HR 2a T'lana Logicates
by slytherinsal
Summary: Book 2 weyr in my AU following Dragonchoice; T'lana, tied up with twin sons has time to be nosy. In the form of a braided novel, each chapter follows from the last but has its own story; rated for suspicious deaths.9th Pass, 6-01-2519 to 9-24-2520
1. Chapter 1

_As always I do not own Pern nor Anne McCaffery's characters. I own only my characters, a laptop and a few ideas. This is very much a segue – it also covers T'lan's growing understanding of how to apply observation and logic to problems. There are as yet no sophisticated mysteries – for one thing, Pern has not, for the main part, developed sophisticated crime. It's a learning experience. It also covers the arrival of new people, and those small events that affect later larger ones… I'm sorry it's not totally exciting but I hope you enjoy the daily doings at High Reaches Weyr and the few small excitements that impinge upon it! This runs from 6-01-2519 to 9-24-2520_

CHAPTER 1 Reconciliations and Some Very Odd Happenings

"How could you Lirilly – how DARE you!" Weyrleader N'ton's voice cut like ice as he raged at the cowering Queenrider.

"Uh, could I put in my two marks worth Weyrleader N'ton?" The clear voice from the doorway was Talana's; and N'ton gritted his teeth, half expecting himself to receive vituperation from the girl Lirilly had attacked. To his total amazement, Talana walked forward and tucked a hand into Lirilly's arm. She said, "I mean, I know it was pretty reckless of Lirilly to undo her fighting straps to try to help me out with that patchy Thread, but honestly, don't you think the poor girl's been torturing herself enough with how she nearly killed both of us without you starting?"

N'ton stared, open-mouthed. This was not the story he'd heard.

"But she flamed you!"

"I bear no grudge for her being cackhanded."

"So – that's your story?" he sounded frankly sceptical.

Talana surveyed him calmly.

"Queen riders don't fight, Weyrleader. It's beneath their dignity. Lirilly, I was looking for you to help me out bathing the babies. Nice to meet you N'ton; see you around." She smiled sweetly at him and firmly steered the unprotesting Lirilly from the room. N'ton was left catching flies.

Safely in Talana's room, Lirilly leaned limply against the wall and shut her eyes. She was shaking.

"This is one more debt I owe you." She said. "Why – how can you be so forgiving?"

"Fardles, girl, we agreed to be friends. Besides it CANNOT be even whispered that Queenriders fight. It will bring the weyrs into disrepute and we've enough trouble as it is. Please Lirilly, don't start crying again, if you weep much more there's going to be a flood and I get seasick." She added as the older girl's eyes filled with tears. Lirilly sniffed and giggled a little hysterically. Then she said,

"It's quite a punishment in a way, really. You've implied that I was being rather brave – and I've got to live with knowing that if people praise me I'm a hypocrite." She grimaced, bitterly. "But I won't dare contradict them – now you've pointed out what I owe to the weyrs as well as through my own natural cowardice."

Talana put her arms around her.

"Self hate is silly, Lirilly. –Sorry, that wasn't meant to rhyme, must be the influence of the Harper Hall" - which raised a smile from her new friend "And helps neither you nor Tamalenth. Look, you've decided to start over – so you can live up to the story, can't you. You're no coward, whatever you say – you'd not have Impressed if you were because you'd not've been able to face Thread."

"That's different."

Talana snorted.

"No different. And speaking of which, I've managed to finagle us onto the ground crews if like me you've come to hate being cooped up during Fall.

"Haven't I just! I hate those shutters now!"

"We'll have to sneak out past Faylina of course, but she's busy doing the sort of inventory that takes forever. I overheard her telling Silvina that Master Oldive has mislaid some supplies of Fellis and wants them found, so we'll be fine!"

oOoOo

Talana was genuinely glad of Lirilly's help with her twin infant sons. Blasé as she had been to Pilgra about caring for her own baby, the plurality of her offspring were causing her some concern in the matter of being able to care for them. Talana hated the idea of fostering off the babies but was beginning to feel that it might become necessary. After all, there was rather a lot of her beloved Mirrith to care for – and the little Queen had not been oiled by her in days.

"_But I love you"_ Mirrith comforted _"And R'gar and Sagarra have oiled me and Tamalenth. And I think I am going to make a new friend."_ Talana sensed interest and curiosity from her weyrmate and wondered what she meant.

oOoOo

Mirrith and Tamalenth had taken up residence on the Dancing Square. The latter was rather a bad colour as a result of her rider's mental neglect, and Mirrith was a little concerned. However, Tamalenth was communicating again since Lirilly had emerged from herself; and the girls had promised to escape from Faylina that afternoon to spend time with their dragons. Meanwhile there was a diversion; from the archway of the Harper Hall, Mirrith was aware of being watched.

The watcher was of adult human size – in fact rather larger, Mirrith thought, than average – but the thoughts that were so clear and bell like were like a child's. He was looking at the two Queen dragons with awe at their beauty – and not a trace of fear.

"_Do you think I'm beautiful?"_ Mirrith knew she was vain, but enjoyed being admired.

"Big pretty talk to Camo?" The tone was astonished and gratified. Mirrith extended her neck to look at him. Tentatively he left the arch and came closer. "Big pretties hungry?" he asked, hopefully.

"_Not hungry, no."_ Mirrith had hunted only a few days ago. _"My shoulder itches though."_ She added hopefully; and Camo approached, beaming.

"Camo scratch Pretty's itch?" He asked; and Mirrith assented. She was soon humming in pleasure as the simple man scratched her shoulder and rubbed her sensitive eyebrow ridges the same as he did to Menolly's firelizards. Talana and Lirilly found him there, wide eyed with joy and wonder when they came out with a pail of oil. Seeing humans his face immediately became apprehensive.

"Camo stroke pretties" he said. "Pretties like it." He added with a touch of defiance.

"Yes, don't they!" grinned Talana. "Are you able to help us oil them?"

"Camo really help oil big pretties?" he needed confirmation; Talana wondered how often he'd been given disappointments in the past.

"If you don't mind, Camo." She said. "There's rather a lot of Dragon here to oil."

"_Are you implying that I'm fat?"_ Mirrith sounded injured, playing her favourite game. Talana laughed,

"If the skin fits, wear it my sweet."

Lirilly whispered

"That's the Hall's dummy – do we really want him touching our dragons?"

"And Mirrith tells me his heart is as pure as a tiny child's. I guess that beats a lot of Holders we let go riding, huh?"

"I get your point." And Lirilly smiled at Camo tentatively.

"Camo help weyrwomen with big pretties" said Camo, firmly spreading oil. Talana looked at Tamalenth critically.

"I can see she's out of condition" Lirilly said crossly.

"I was just thinking that her tail was swollen." Said Talana thoughtfully. "She's gone and got herself constipated. Hey, Camo, do you know where to get a load of Purgative?"

"Purgative?" The half wit frowned, confused.

"Tamalenth's tummy hurts. She needs to clear it out."

"Oh, tummy medicine. Camo get tummy medicine. Plenty of that." He pulled a face. "No fellis right now, no, Master Oldive very cross. Camo get dragonsize tummy medicine!" And he lumbered off purposefully

"You" said Talana "Can jolly well administer it. I'm not getting covered in the stinking stuff for your dragon's comfort."

oOoOo

Talana was burping babies later reflecting on their similarities to dragonets – all sleep and feeding – when R'gar arrived with Lanelly as a surprise visitor. Talana flung herself on the older woman and hugged her for all the world like Sagarra. Lanelly hugged her back, and duly admired the babies.

"I wonder if they'll keep that dark red hair." She said "They're lovely Talana, so like both of you; and so clearly wanted by both of you too." Talana nodded her eyes swimming.

"Oh Lanelly, I do so want to ask your advice!" She said. R'gar took Sagarra firmly by the hand.

"C'mon, sweeting, let's go see if that Harper girl's around with her singing lizards, shall we?" He said, letting her lead him downstairs. Talana buried herself against Lanelly and Lanelly cuddled her as though she were a child.

"There there." She said. "Tell me all about it."

Talana wiped her eyes and sniffed, and grinned ruefully.

"I don't do that too often." She said.

"The better to have someone to do it with then." Comforted Lanelly. Talana sighed.

"I had such a shouting match with Pilgra." She sighed. "Over fostering my baby – I was so sure I could bring up a baby and do my duties. But two of them – and Lanelly, I get tired too quickly even kicking my heels here and I get so silly and weepy."

"Perfectly normal." Said Lanelly. "It usually happens after birthing."

"Does it? I feel such an idiot. Will it get better? Will I be able to look after them properly?"

"It will pass dear, but if you want me to be totally honest?" - Talana nodded – "Then I'd say you'll need help."

Talana screwed up her face.

"I did so want to be a family." She said, rather bitterly. "What sort of woman am I if I can't care for my man's sons?"

"A busy one, child. But there's nothing to stop being part of a family – if you'll accept my help?"

"Oh Lanelly! I can't ask that of you! Your cot, your herb garden…"

"Kept a lonely woman busy. Only there'd be another of my grandchildren…"

Talana looked indignant.

"Did she abandon that poor little morsel on you?" She asked. Lanelly nodded.

"Marag lives with me now. I've not seen Sagally since she went to High Reaches." She sighed. "I often wonder where I went wrong; and I do wonder if I should have let her father spoil her when he came home from sea." Talana hugged her in return. Her fertile imagination was beginning to conceive an idea. After all, Lanelly was still a handsome woman, not too many babies to wear her out, and she was about the right age for R'cal if he should choose to extend his relationship with the family.

"I would be delighted to accept your generous offer, Lanelly" she said "If you are sure it is what you would like to do."

"Above all things, child. Now let me hold my step–grandsons."

oOoOo

Talana adroitly sent R'gar to help Lanelly move to the weyr before Threadfall. She had a suspicion that he'd veto her being part of the groundcrew; but she felt she'd go mad shut inside when her function was to be out fighting Thread. Lethargic as she felt, sleep eluded her as she was denied the high level of physical activity she was used to. Aided and abetted by Tyrin, who kept watch, the two Queen riders slipped out to join the ground crews. Talana's 'inner ear' picked up indignation at the idea of girls coming out to join them, and steered Lirilly towards the figure she recognised from description as Lord Groghe. The peppery but worthy Lord Holder never asked anything of underlings he was not prepared to undertake himself, and he was out with his rather unwilling fair of sons.

"Wait – that's my grandfather!" Whispered Lirilly.

"Exactly. Why don't you introduce us?"

"What are you up to?"

"Not letting that sour old purge-face send us back." Talana indicated the man with journeyman farmer knots who seemed to object to their presence.

Lord Groghe had noticed the girls.

"Ha! Lirilly! Haven't seen you since you Impressed. Congratulations. Honour on the family. Heard some rumours – see they're not true. If that's the other Rider girl."

Lirilly was rather taken aback by her Grandfather's joviality. His attitudes toward dragonriders were somewhat equivocal unless he was certain they were performing their duty to him as he discharged his to the weyr. She stammered through an introduction.

"T'lan, what?" His eyebrows performed an intricate dance measure.

"My Lord, it's a long story, but the dragons like it. And if the dragons like it, who knows but that it's not another lost custom? "Talana said. "High Reaches has had bad times; we need a few customs of our own to establish that we're more than just the Weyr that lost two queens."

"Ha! Well said, boy – ah, girl! So you're not flying today, eh?"

"We're still out of action after that accident that put us here Lord Groghe. We can heft flamethrowers but not hang onto fighting straps – or move fast enough to catch Thread up there."

"So you're joining us, eh? Excellent, excellent!"

The journeyman hurried over.

"My lord, it's time to send the ladies inside. It's going to start soon." He glanced nervously to the west where the hiss of the leading edge could just about be heard. Dragons from Fort Weyr were manning the skies, ready to sear the majority of the grey menace. Groghe grunted.

"Put 'em on left flank sweep, Torval, outside my idiot sons."

"My Lord…"

"Don't argue, Torval. These ladies ought to know more about sweeping Thread than you or I. Let 'em get on with it"

The journeyman and the Queenriders were all dismissed with a gesture; and the glowering man issued them with flamethrowers.

"I don't have no amerchoors in mah sweep." He growled irritably. Talana smiled, sweetly.

"Oh good. I hate working with incompetents." She said.

oOoOo

Talana looked critically at Lirilly as she hefted the flamethrower.

"What hand do you write with?" She asked, suddenly.

"Left. Why?"

"That's why you're so fardling cackhanded. Here, put it on the other way about."

Lirilly obeyed, and her face lit up.

"Why, it feels much better!" She said. "I never thought to change it, the weyrlingmaster at Benden was so positive about how to hold it, then when I came to High Reaches to Impress I told R'gar I'd been taught what to do."

"We can work really well if you sweep left and I sweep right; we'll cover more." T'lan suggested, and Lirilly nodded, almost bubbling with enthusiasm.

oOoOo

The comparative lightness of Fall made the sweep seem easy to the girls, used to tackling Thread at a higher altitude. Even though most Thread had been charred by the time it reached the level of the Queens and their escorts there was still sufficient to make the groundsweep seem relatively easy. Talana was aware of muttering from some of the ground crew as she and Lirilly effortlessly covered a swathe about the size of that taken by four men; and the girls flamed all their Thread out of the air, unlike some of the men who let it fall to the ground before burning it. In fact some of Groghe's sons and fosterlings were behaving in a manner not merely inefficient, but downright irresponsible. They appeared to be treating it like a Gather, giggling and jostling each other. As a gout of Thread landed rather close, she actually heard one say,

"Oops! Well if it'd hit' I'd just have to flick _Between_!"

"To join your wits, I suppose" she muttered,

"EH?" Asked Lirilly. Talana passed on what she had heard. Lirilly tsk'd.

"Drunk?" she asked.

"Wouldn't be surprised. Uh-oh."

Talana breezed over to take out the wriggling mass of thread that was about to land on the young men that had evidently not seen it..

"I SAY!" Said one of them. "Look what you're doing, girlie. You shouldn't be out here."

One of the others made a suggestion as to where Talana should be and she burned.

"Fine. I shan't save your worthless tails next time." She said, returning to her sweep lane. The man who had spoken grabbed her by the shoulder and she swung faster than he could turn her to ram him in the guts with the but end of her flamethrower.

"Look to your sweep, wher-breath." She told him

"You'll regret that, lowborn."

"Not as much as you will if you miss Thread and it sears out what few brains you've got."

Some of them seemed to be sobered a little, and continued the sweep. Talana caught Lord Groghe's eye watching her and made a comical face, tutting at the sky to indicate amused frustration. Groghe grunted. She got the impression he was under few illusions about his numerous younger offspring.

oOoOo

Talana absently co-ordinated the firelizards that were out, and finished the sweep with a little gold queen on her shoulder chattering and swearing at the Thread as it passed over to become the responsibility of others. Talana found the little creature to have a superior intellect and had been having something akin to a conversation when Lord Groghe approached. The firelizard detached herself from Talana and flew to him, rubbing her headpoll affectionately against his cheek, chirping to him and explaining how helpful and good she was. The Lord Holder rubbed the little thing's eyebrows and she trilled ecstatically at him.

"See you've been seducing my firelizard, what, Hah?" he sounded fierce but Talana's inner ear told her that he was rather amused.

"I've not been that enamoured of them until recently, Lord Groghe" she confessed, "But Merga is so clever!"

Talana had no intention of flattery, but the way to Lord Groghe's heart certainly was through his Firelizard. He looked pleased.

"You talk to them, what? Like that girl Brekke talks to dragons?" he asked.

"Well I talk to dragons. And they're not so very different – though" she winked at him "I'm not sure I'd care to say that to some of the stuffier Bronzes!"

Groghe roared with laughter, and caressed little Merga. He looked impatient as one of his sons approached. Talana noted it was the one she'd hit, not the vacant eyed one.

"Father, that girl should be punished. She attacked me!" he whined.

"Saw what happened Benis. If you're stupid enough to attack a Weyrwoman, don't whine to me when she lets you off lightly." Groghe grunted irritably.

"She's wearing no knots!"

"Thread and Storm, boy, who else would burn Thread that well? I know you're a fool but I didn't realise you were defective!" He added to the girls, "Come up to the hold and wet your throats with me. I'll hear what really happened to hospitalise the pair of you."

Lirilly looked panicked, but T'lan smiled.

"We'd be honoured, Lord Groghe; I the more because your granddaughter saved me from Thread by searing it out. Though I must not be too long away from my babes; this is the time they sleep but they'll be hungry soon. I think they're as voracious as dragonets or hatchling firelizards!"

oOoOo

Talana spun Lord Groghe a highly coloured and obviously purple tale about her own fatness and clumsiness and Lirilly's vain attempts on a tubby Tamalenth to keep up - culminating in a miscalculation. The story was sufficiently outrageous in the telling to keep the Lord Holder chuckling, but it had the ring of truth. Talana had borrowed heavily on the knowledge of how Luruth had seared Laranth and substituted their own situation.

"So you see, Lord Groghe," she finished, "Though L'rilly and I didn't see eye to eye before this, it's had the positive effect of making us friends, secure in the knowledge that we're both dragonriders and we both do what we can to sear Thread. Even if that means running nose first into each other in over-enthusiastic form two hundred lengths up!"

"L'rilly, is it?" he said as he finished laughing.

"For sure, my Lord – we'd both like to work together again now we've had a chance to grow up, and we've asked T'bor if he can arrange it." Actually, Talana had spoken to Orth, who had said doubtfully that he'd mention it; but T'lan had no doubt that T'bor would capitulate. He knew her well enough to realise she never did anything without reason. He might just require some persuasion; and Talana had also been chatting with Segrith. "High Reaches might as well retain its reputation for being different. We are no-one's poor relations!" She tossed back the mane of flame red hair that had grown quite long during her pregnancy and looked proudly at him.

"Ha – Hum! Have you any idea, young woman, how much like F'lar of Benden you look?"

"Yes, my lord. However I try not to remind Lessa of that too often." She replied with equanimity. And that should settle any rumours of queens fighting, she thought. And protect Lirilly from any vindictiveness at Fort Weyr where they might well guess the truth. Groghe was not noted for his reticence, and whilst something might be said about partiality towards his eldest grandchild, he was known to be the first to complain about transgressions on the part of dragonriders. And with fairness, having been Beholden to T'ron and Mardra!

oOoOo

The shriek split the air and startled the sleeping Merga off Lord Groghe's arm scolding into the air. . Running steps brought news to the comfortable anteroom off the spectacularly carved Great Hall.

"My Lord! My Lord!" the woman almost fell into the room.

"What's going on?" Groghe asked testily, grimacing fiercely.

"My lord – it's Lord Tasker – he's dead." She blurted out, then buried her face in her apron moaning more, Talana thought, from shock than grief.

"Dead? Pull yourself together woman. How can he be dead? He was fine half an hour ago. Or as fine" he muttered to himself "as he ever is." He shook the weeping woman gently to bring her out of her hysteria. "Come Jayka, tell me."

"Oh my lord, I seen it, I seen it all." She wept. "Coming across the yard I was and I seen him up on the window ledge. Called out that he could fly and out he jumps! He's out there - and he's dead!"

Listening to this recital, Lord Groghe whitened under his normal ruddy complexion. He turned on his heel and ran towards the Hall entrance. T'lan and Lirilly exchanged looks; then they followed.

oOoOo

What was left of the youth lay spread on the hard forecourt. There was no doubt that he was dead. Faces looked out of the windows, and knots of people had gathered staring at the spectacle. Groghe made an inarticulate noise and stood staring at the mess that had been his son. Talana spoke up, using the carrying tones she used to direct weyrlings in practice.

"That'll do with the idle spectacle .You there" she pointed at one of the onlookers "Go and get Master Oldive."

"Be'ant it a bit late for He?" asked the man. Talana quelled him with a look and he hastened away. She continued, "you four there, two blankets, one to cover his face and one to use as a stretcher. As for the rest of you gapejaws, if you're still here after I've counted ten, there's two queen dragons who could use mucking out."

Talana did not bother to mention that dragons, when healthy, evacuated _Between_; the threat was sufficient and faces miraculously disappeared from windows. She turned to Lord Groghe.

"My lord, I thought Master Oldive should come, because I saw Lord Tasker behaving strangely earlier. I thought then he was drunk, but it doesn't seem right; and if there's any illness causing irrational behaviour, we ought to find out about it to quarantine."

The Lord Holder stared at her, barely comprehending what she was saying; then he nodded.

"Do what you must." His voice was ragged. "He wasn't a bad boy you know – not like some of 'em. Easily led. Not a bad boy." He turned on his heel and walked into the hold, his shoulders bowed.

"Will the Lady Holder look after him?" Talana asked Lirilly. Lirilly nodded.

"If not Lady Benoria then one of his subsidary ladies will. He has a succession of ladies each younger and louder than the last. How do you think he's bred so many children over such a stretch of years?"

"Certainly isn't pure thoughts." Grunted T'lan as she waited for master Oldive.

oOoOo

Master Oldive was not best pleased to see Talana.

"What do you think you're doing out here, young woman?" He asked.

"Rate me later, Master Oldive. I'm concerned that there might be some illness here – for why should a healthy young man scarcely an adult declare that he could fly, and leap from a window – a young man who earlier had spoken about going _Between_?" She said, pulling back the cover from young Lord Tasker's body. Master Oldive pulled up short.

"Great Shells!" he exclaimed. "I was told he had fallen, that life was extinct – but" he tutted at the shattered remains, then got down to business. He sniffed the bleeding mouth. "No alcohol" he said. "Well, I must study the body."

"I could help." Talana volunteered.

"What do you know of the healing arts?"

"Master Oldive, I know more about dragon healing; but I've an insatiable curiosity about everything."

He smiled a little.

"Very well. I can't really spare anyone else anyway. Go feed your younglings and then scrub up and join me." He thought to himself that at least then he would know exactly where his most troublesome patient was!

Talana ran off to see to the twins. Lirilly shuddered.

"T'lan, how could you?"

"There's something that I'm missing. Something I've seen or heard today that's nagging me. But we need to check there's no disease. I've no desire to emulate Moreta."

Master Oldive had laid out an awesome array of knives and saws at the side of the stripped body of the young man by the time Talana had satisfied the appetites of her sons. She swallowed hard.

"Nothing to fear from the dead." Grunted the Masterhealer.

"I'm not afraid of that." She said with dignity. "I'm afraid of being squeamish when there's time to think. Generally when you're sewing dragons and riders back together you're too busy keeping them alive to throw up at the smells."

He smiled grimly.

"All I need you to do is pass me knives. I'm going to examine his guts in case he's picked up some kind of poisoning. Records do mention strange behaviour related to poisoning by a fungus on grains, and that could also risk the whole hold."

T'lan watched with some interest as Master Oldive slit open the boy's abdomen. She bent over to see better; then straightened in surprise.

"Did I just smell what I thought I smelled?" She asked him. He bent down to sniff.

"Yes." He said grimly. "And that solves another mystery. Though it should not have that effect." He tutted to himself deep in thought.

"Tell me," asked T'lan, "Have you ever had a brewing of fellis that went wrong, gave bad dreams?"

He stared at her.

"Yes – yes, last year."

"Who was involved?"

"Only one journeyman – rather a lazy fellow, who was careless in the distillation process."

"Let me have his name."

"Wenner. But the stuff was thrown out."

"But he knows what happened to it. If he experimented and those young fools at the hold used it like alcohol to combat fear in Threadfall…"

"Were you out in Threadfall?" he asked sternly, diverted from his examination.

"Of course. Drives me crazy being indoors and it upsets the boys. Left 'em with Silvina who's calmer than me even indoors. I hate being shut in."

"We – ell; if you chafe at it half as much as Journeyman Menolly does, it wouldn't help the babes."

"Quite so. I thought if you didn't mind, I'd go up the hall and see if I can confirm any of my wild guesswork."

"Just remember that you're still my patient and I'll not have my handiwork damaged." He said.

oOoOo

Talana put on a formal tunic to go to the hold with the intricate triangular junior weyrwoman's knot at the shoulder, the dark blue of High Reaches Weyr entwined with gold to indicate her dragon's colour, since the same complex knot indicated a wingleader. Talana reflected that the style of the knots was reflected in much of the carven stonework she had seen in Fort Hold, intricate patterns surrounding doors and windows. She sought out the other lad who had been acting strangely, a fosterling from Telgar. She came straight to the point.

"How much did Wenner charge for the stuff?" she asked bluntly.

"T-two marks a dose." He quavered. She noticed he did not question the name she used, nor query what 'stuff' she meant. He was very shaken and still under the influence of the fellis-based narcotic.

"Two marks? And you paid?"

"He didn't ask that much at first. But when he put the price up and we didn't pay we got ill."

"Well, laddy, I'm afraid you'll just have to be ill until that pernicious stuff works its way out of your system. I suggest hot baths and purgatives." She added.

oOoOo

Armed with information, Talana went to see Lord Groghe. He listened in silence as she explained that Fellis had been systematically disappearing, and treated in a different way than usual had been responsible indirectly for his son's death. As she finished her narrative he beckoned forward a couple of his people.

"Go to Master Oldive and ask him to attend; and ask him to place one Journeyman Wenner in your custody."

They bowed and left. Groghe silently stroked Merga and Talana was not sure whether to leave quietly or stay. She looked toward the door.

"Oh do sit down, weyrwoman" Groghe said irritably. "I need you testimony for one thing. You're a clever little thing for all that you're pretty."

Talana digested that, trying to find a connection between lack of beauty and abundance of brain. She failed; but smiled at him anyway. There's a soft centre under that gruff exterior, she thought; and I imagine the successive ladies he takes are very happy with him. He probably spoils them rotten in private and shouts at them in public. Her musings were interrupted by the arrival of Master Oldive and the two holders. Oldive came directly to the point.

"I'm afraid, Lord Groghe that Wenner cannot be brought to justice."

"Cannot? What do you mean, cannot?" The Lord Holder was angry; the veins on his forehead stood out purple.

"He has left the hold." Master Oldive spoke in a precise way. "According to the other journeymen, he began to show signs of agitation when the news of the dramatic death of Lord Tasker started spreading; one of them saw him packing half an hour later. He's been gone over an hour."

Lord Groghe stood up, his hands clenched.

"He must be hunted down!"

"Lord Groghe?" Talana spoke up.

"YES?" He swung round so quickly Merga was dislodged, and she fluttered at him, ticking him off with angry trills and chitters.

"This is a menace to all Pern if it should become widely known. I could bespeak Lioth and ask the riders to help hunt him."

"Do it, Weyrwoman T'lan." He growled.

oOoOo

N'ton was not too happy with the idea of hunting down a criminal; and it took sometime for Talana to explain the danger. She sighed for T'bor, who might be abrasive but at least he had a grasp of unpleasant realities. N'ton was fine, upright and honourable and cautious of the feelings of the holders. Which was why of course he'd been chosen to replace T'ron. The idea of using dragons to catch criminals definitely did not appeal to him. Nor, as she pointed out, did it appeal to T'lan.

"The knowledge – the improper knowledge – this man has can be seen as akin to a plague" she explained. We'd not hesitate to intervene in a plague.

N'ton grumbled; but agreed to look and send word for the Lord holder's men to follow on runner-beasts. However, the question was academic; for Wenner disappeared as surely as if he had been devoured by Thread, which Lord Groghe devoutly hoped might yet happen.

oOoOo

T'lan had only just got back to her room when R'gar arrived to spend a surreptitious night.

"After all" he said, "You must have had a pretty boring day."

Talana agreed that his arrival ALWAYS livened things up!

_May I make the point now that I think the knots drawn in the Dragonlover's Guide to Pern are seriously disappointing and boring. Bearing in mind the rich and vibrant cultures that made up the original settlers, I should have thought that the knots are based on Celtic knotwork. My idea is that Weyr knots are based on the triangular knot, Hold Knots on the figure of eight/true lover's knot and Craft on the knot that loops through an 'e' shape. The higher one is within any of the three, the more complexity in the structure of the knot. I will also introduce the idea of adding tassels to an apprentice knot to indicate seniority. For images of celtic knots, Google for images of 'celtic knots'. I found one image too of a tapestry of two dragons with knotwork around them, which I can see being part of the furnishings in any Hold or Weyr; I'm sorry I can't illustrate my stories the way I do the ones I print out for personal consumption. I'm not sufficiently computer savvy to put knots between scenes rather than script. Working on it._


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 How Much May the Blind See?

Talana had hoped that R'cal would come to visit her, but she had not expected him to turn up with a tearful young girl.

R'cal scowled at Faylina and nodded in a studiedly casual way to T'lan and growled,

"Found her when I was delivering a message. Thought I ought to bring her to you. Girl's been raped – by a dragonman."

Talana gasped, and held out her hands to the girl; the girl ignored her.

"She's blind" R'cal explained. "The misbegotten son of a wher killed the canine she used to guide her."

Talana put an arm around the girl.

"I'm Talana," she said. "Come with me and Faylina and we'll get you cleaned up and stop it hurting. Then you can tell me everything you can remember and we'll see to punishing him."

The girl was deeply shocked but nodded and went along with them. Faylina managed to persuade her to tell them her name, Seela, and calmed her down. Talana was filled with admiration for the way the otherwise bossy woman managed to deal with the distraught Seela, treating her like a child as they stripped and bathed her, and put her to bed with the half strength numbweed that was used for delicate skin. T'lan absently lifted a blonde hair from amongst the girl's darker growth, and laid it in a porcelain dish. The girl was generally bruised, and her neck bore clear marks of the fingers of her assailant, bleeding from uneven scratches at the end of the bruises. Faylina gave her a judicious amount of fellis juice and the waited until she slept.

"How terrible – poor child! One can scarcely credit it of dragonmen, even if weyr ways are strange!" Faylina exclaimed as they left her.

"It's revolting." Talana was uncompromising. "He must be found out. I shall ask Mirrith to bespeak Lioth."

oOoOo

Twenty minutes later, N'ton was pacing up and down irritably. He had complained, via Lioth and Orth to T'bor that this weyrwoman was causing him problems; and was dissatisfied with what Lioth had reported.

"_Orth says that Mirrith's rider does not cause problems. She just expects to discover and fix other people's. Orth says you get used to her."_

N'ton said,

"So, R'cal, let's get this straight. You were running a message from Lord Oterel to one of Lord Groghe's senior Holders, and as you were taking off, Camnath spotted this, er, Seela. She was afraid of you when you landed and said 'no – please, not again!'"

R'cal nodded.

"Naturally I was taken aback. I asked what was wrong, then I saw the blood. I told her she would see justice, Weyrleader." He looked down his nose at N'ton, daring him to evade his responsibilities. He continued, "She told me it was a dragonman who took her, and she feared that her dog was dead because she heard him barking, then he yelped and made no more sound. It was then that I realised that she was blind, sir." His tone was respectful to the Fort Weyrleader, but N'ton had the feeling that he was being very patient. N'ton asked,

"But if she's blind, how could she know it was a dragon man?"

"Because of the wing draft. She thought Camnath was his dragon because it felt the same as when his dragon came to collect him after the dragons had finished screaming and bellowing overhead."

"So" interposed T'lan "The fellow was away from home when a dragon rose and took out his need on a holder girl without first checking if she was willing."

N'ton nodded regretfully.

"Sounds like it. He has some excuse, of course…"

"Not if she's that unwilling. More I guess if his was the lucky dragon. Who flew?"

"It was a green – Ninth I believe."

"You'll be checking of course who flew her – and asking the two riders involved to join us I'm sure, Weyrleader N'ton." Talana was at her sweetest. R'cal gave her a R'gar type look of deep suspicion.

"Why is that relevant?" asked N'ton, puzzled.

"Ninth's rider will have some idea what dragons were involved. And we shall see if the rider of Ninth's mate was present in the weyr." Talana explained. N'ton had a feeling she was being patient with him too. She added, "Logic should enable us to eliminate the innocent and discover the guilty. The guilty man must provide compensation."

"Perhaps you would like to run the investigation." He intended to be sarcastic. Ignoring his tone, Talana smiled brightly.

"Perhaps it would be as well for an impartial Queenrider to be the one to ask impertinent questions." She said. "Also I won't have to live with anyone I embarrass later."

N'ton opened his mouth to speak; then decided against it. After all, everyone knew they were all slightly – eccentric – at High Reaches. He'd be able to extract the information as she asked questions without it being a problem for him later, as she suggested.

oOoOo

The young couple were plainly very close, and rather unnerved about their peremptory summons. They touched hands every now and then to reassure each other; and T'lan liked them both on sight. She ascertained that the young green rider was named K'star and his weyrmate was M'ander, rider of Blue Ralth. Both had been in the weyr.

"I'd not leave K'star when Ninth was near to rising!" M'ander sounded shocked; and Talana nodded.

"I have to check." She said. "During Ninth's flight, a rider raped a blind girl; and there's some small excuse for it if his dragon had flown Ninth. I need to know who was in pursuit whose rider was not there."

The young men engaged in a spirited discussion. The evinced their disgust at the act, and expressed themselves willing to help in any way possible. At length they decided that there had been three dragons whose riders they had no recollection of seeing.

"There was Fierth" said K'star, confidently. "He's a Brown and S'lonag rides him. Fierth's strong, but S'lonag's – inhibited."

M'ander guffawed.

"He's that all right! Fierth hasn't a hope of catching Ninth with that much backwash of feeling from S'lonag. Not that I'd let anyone else fly Ninth anyway." He added tenderly. K'star grinned at him.

"Good job I'm not like R'jav, who'd do it to see S'lonag's face. " he chuckled. "Dernth was flown last by Someth, who hasn't a hope at Ninth and T'kar wasn't pleased. He wasn't there, I guess on purpose, though we did notice his Someth. The only other one I can recall was Creth, who's a blue like Someth. His rider is Y'trell and he's got no problems with males or females."

"We really are very sorry it happened." Said M'ander.

"Yes" added K'star. "I feel half responsible as Ninth rose. Please convey our sympathy and ask if there's anything we can do to help."

Talana thanked the earnest young men, touched by their solicitude.

"Oh – just one more question." She said. "Are any of those three blonde?"

"All of them." Said K'star. Talana groaned.

oOoOo

Talana explained to Seela when the girl awoke that she would have to ask her to remember the experience and talk about it to help find the culprit. Seela nodded. She seemed much calmer after the fellis induced sleep, and answered Talana's questions fully, betraying her agitation in the way she fidgeted with her braid.

"This man killed your canine, you told R'cal" said Talana "Then he grabbed you – I notice you have marks on your throat, with rather irregular cuts by the bruises."

"No lady, he grabbed me first – he was wearing gloves, then, soft ones. I think Rosso must have gone for him, for he swore, and let go. I fell, then I heard Rosso yelp. He held my throat again where I lay to – to do it" her voice tailed away and she swallowed before continuing, "But I could feel his nails digging in to me then. I didn't know he was a dragon man then, though I heard a mating flight go over." She paused, then added shyly "I hear them a long way away because my ears are very good. They have to be." Talana nodded then caught herself up and made an encouraging noise of assent instead.

"What was his voice like?" she asked. Seela considered.

"He didn't say a lot. When he did speak it was a – a sort of whisper. I did hear a sort of tinkling noise like – like a small tambourine as he moved; more on one side than the other."

"That's good. You're doing really well, Seela. Would you like some more klah?"

"Thank you." The girl accepted gratefully.

Talana waited for Seela to finish her klah, then asked,

"Was there anything else that you can remember – anything that you felt, or smelled?"

"Yes – yes, there were smells!" The girl remembered. "He smelled of sweat of course, and a musky smell –"

"That'll be the dragon." Interposed Talana.

"He smelled of sweet oil too – his hair I think – and – and it was numbweed." She said. "The other smell was numbweed!"

Talana put an arm around her as memory of her ordeal made her break into sobs.

"You've done very well, Seela. You're very brave. We'll see you all right, dear." she added, "Can you remember just one thing, Seela – how many wing beats did the dragon take to lift off?"

"I – I felt two strong beats." Seela managed. "There may have been a third, but it was less strong."

oOoOo

Talana waved N'ton to a seat and served him klah.

"What have you discovered?" He asked.

"You are looking for a Blue Rider of a large Blue who is vain about his appearance and who oils his blonde hair and wears a single ornate earring. He may wear gloves to hide the fact that he bites his nails, which spoil his looks. He has been recently Threadscored or otherwise wounded."

N'ton stared, open-mouthed.

"Why – that describes T'kar!"

"And T'kar is confirmed – by being the absent rider of a dragon involved in the flight."

"But how can you tell this – bitten nails and so on?"

"The bitten nails are shown by the irregular wounds on Seela's neck by the finger marks. She smelled sweet oil that shows the man's vanity, backed up by the sound of a jingling earring. She also smelled numbweed, so he had probably been scored. Riders try to be elsewhere for the brewing of numbweed, and scoring is the most common form of injury. That he was blonde is evident from the hair he left mingled with hers."

N'ton blinked

"You worked all that out?" he was amazed. "What about the blue dragon?"

"Not only did she think that Camnath was her tormentor back, but she told me there were two violent downdraughts. It takes all but the strongest browns three sweeps to clear ground because of the momentum ah, extra weight." She told him. "Of those, two will be violent; but by the third the dragon will have reached a height and distance that it is not so noticeable. Seela mentioned a third, lesser, draught which seems conclusive; a small blue would have made a more distinctive third draught."

"Very well. I will confront him." He said. "Lioth will know if he tells the truth. Then of course there is the question of compensation. I suppose you have some suggestions there."

"She needs a replacement for her canine. I suggest the risky trip to Southern to acquire a queen firelizard egg might prove a salutary lesson. Also upkeep – in or out of the weyr, her choice – of any baby she has as a result of this; freedom to come to the weyr is her right anyway. I think some form of blood money would also be in order for her pain and fear."

"You argue well and fairly, queenrider Talana." He admitted. "It shall be so."

oOoOo

R'cal approved Talana's suggestions in his dour way when she told him about it later. He was busy admiring his grandsons and growling that is was so fardling hot in here it made his eyeballs sweat. Talana agreed gravely, storing that one away for future use. R'gar popped in; and Talana made herself scarce. The two seemed quite amicably involved in arguing about what colour dragons the twins were going to Impress. Laranth and Camnath were catching up on news: the dragons at least were less silly than grown men, she thought!

oOoOo

R'cal was visibly shaken when T'lan introduced Sagarra to him. Sagarra however was so happy to have another grandparent and keen to drag him off to meet all her friends that she did not notice his withdrawn mien; and Talana backed Sagarra to thaw the frostiest heart. Not that R'cal was cold but he did need to be firmly and ruthlessly loved. He had greeted Tyrin with a

"Ha – hum errumph" which had caused the boy to clam up. Talana explained to Tyrin why R'cal was stand-offish; and the boy agreed to try hard to be friendly. R'cal was in fact only startled that his son had fostered anyone at all, and made more of an effort to talk to Tyrin. Conversation was a little stilted; but R'cal took a genuine interest in the boy's progress as an apprentice under Masters Domick and Jerint ; and Tyrin opened up somewhat to him. The sensitive lad perceived that R'cal was very like R'gar but unlike his foster father had no one to confide in.

oOoOo

Meanwhile N'ton paid Talana a courtesy call.

"He confessed. He knew I suppose that Lioth was listening; and he tried to justify himself." He told her. "he seemed to think that he had the right. I disabused him of the notion." He examined his grazed knuckles with some satisfaction. "The girl will get her firelizard as soon as possible; he has instructions not to return without an egg, and not one from a green's clutch either." He sighed. "I thought we'd got rid of those attitudes when T'ron went south but we've still a way to go."

"Had you considered" asked Talana "That he might have been trying to justify to himself something he was ashamed of?"

"It hadn't crossed my mind."

"If he does feel guilty it might be as well to give him the chance to apologise to Seela. If he explains to her about the pull of dragonlust it may help her to understand why a dragonman should hurt her. She's terribly shocked and confused."

N'ton nodded.

"I'll see to it. Why it had to happen at Fort…why it had to happen at all…" he ran his hand back through his hair.

"Weyrleader N'ton, people aren't perfect, even dragonriders who are supposed to be drawn from the best. We get high and mighty about the Oldtimers; perhaps it's a good lesson to all of us that anyone can slip up. We need to watch ourselves for complacency." She pulled a face. "How incredibly pompous that sounded! Forgive me?"

N'ton laughed, then sighed.

"You have a point, even when it does sound pompous." He said. "Seela wants to go home to her family, I hear?"

"Yes. The thought of being in the weyr after that upsets her; but I offered her High Reaches if she wanted to change her mind but didn't fancy proximity to T'kar. She said she'd bear it in mind."

N'ton nodded.

oOoOo

Personally, T'lan did not think Seela would be too happy in a weyr. She had taken her to meet Mirrith to divert her mind from brooding, but the girl had got very upset as she discovered by touch how big the little Queen was. Talana had had to rescue her as she froze in terror, and guide her back to Faylina, leaving Mirrith to Camo. Not that Mirrith objected to Camo's ministrations; she just felt that the more properly adoring people around her the better, and told T'lan so! She was almost coy when Lord Groghe came to see her, Ha!ing and Hrum!ing at her size. The Lord Holder was not used to the larger dragons at close quarters, and was genuinely surprised by Mirrith and Merga chatting together.

"She's just like a very large Merga, what! Ha, hrm?" he said to Talana. Talana smiled lovingly at Mirrith.

"In a way. She likes Merga. "

"What are they saying?" The testy lord holder asked. Talana grinned at him.

"My Lord, if I tell you, your head will never pass the hold door. Merga is busy explaining that you are her Man and you are the kindest and dearest Man on Pern and isn't she lucky to have you for a friend! Mirrith is asking about you and - oh goodness, I'm not listening, they're altogether too frank!"

"Eh, whatsat?"

"Merga mentioned that one of your ladies has a bronze." Talana said, burning. "Fortunately I can stop listening at any time." She added hastily.

"Oh. Hrrum." He added, "Thought you were all pretty open about that sort of thing in weyrs?"

"Well, yes, but there's openness and then there's invasion of privacy. R'gar – my weyrmate – and I value our privacy, so I like to respect other folks'." She told him. He grunted, approvingly. Talana lovingly admonished Mirrith for gossiping, and the little queen blew at her until she fell over backwards. Talana laughed, and scrambled up to do her eyebrows, enthusiastically helped by Merga. Laranth suggested that a little dignity with these flutterbugs was called for; and Mirrith asked sweetly just who Merga and several others had been helping with his bath that morning. Laranth acquired a bout of diplomatic deafness.

oOoOo

Talana was pleased to find out that the affair of Wenner was also to be handled by the harpers, who were disseminating a description of the man far and wide in the hopes that he might be caught and brought to justice. She had no idea that Lord Groghe's effective request that she deal with the matter had caused a few raised eyebrows amongst the harpers, who considered it their province. Lord Groghe had not considered sending for a harper since he had left the matter of a dead kinsman in the hands of a friend of his granddaughter. As Lord Groghe, who was one of the first to grumble about the undermining of autonomy, did not consider this weyr interference however there was little said about it.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 The Thread is the Clue 

T'lan was glad to return home to High Reaches and the homely atmosphere of the double weyr she shared with R'gar. She had badgered Master Oldive about the shortening days and finally he pronounced her babies large enough to travel – so long as they were kept well wrapped. As it happened, neither even woke, tucked between R'gar and Talana on Laranth. Lanelly was ready to welcome her family home, and there was quite a Gather atmosphere. T'bor and Pilgra welcomed T'lan back, Keerana had cooked for her and Sagarra a batch of bubbly pies and Sh'rilla and Lirilly – or L'rilly as she had decided to accept the contraction – were there to welcome their fellow queenrider. All Talana's friends were waiting to greet her – K'len, T'sellan, T'ral and Sh'len, S'gell and M'kel who was trying still to chat up Y'lara who was also inexplicably there. She was studiously ignoring him still, but appeared to be on excellent terms with Sh'rilla and T'kil, Talana noticed. High Reaches used some Greenriders to protect the flanks of the Queens' wing as it was not numerically strong, and Talana had a shrewd suspicion that Pilgra had the intention of turning out a women's wing. It would quiet objections from holder folk about risking their daughters if they did fly in the protected queen wing; and would be good for boosting the efficiency of the low-level sweep. Though the Queens could out-fly the Greens in stamina, the sweep was not fast and two teams of Greens could rotate and rest.

L'rilly said,

"Threadfall over High Reaches Hold tomorrow. Will you be joining the sweep?" Her tone held an enthusiasm that had never been there before and T'lan knew she was revelling in being able to use the flamethrower properly.

"Shards, yes" she replied. "We can fly the pattern we walked at Fort and back up Segrith even better. If Vanira doesn't fuss."

"Vanira's gone. She felt that Fort needed another queen if I was leaving, and also suggested that breeding Queens needed to be moved around to extend the breeding pool. Ralenth is Segrith's sister, and Tamalenth isn't actually Segrith's daughter. She's a Benden-bred Queen." She grinned suddenly. "That's the official story. Actually what she said was that she refused to stay in this madhouse any longer and did he hear. Hear? Half of the High Reaches heard."

"Of course you've never been shrill yourself…" teased T'lan. L'rilly made a face at her.

"I was very young then. I had no idea of the proper dignity consonant to the position of a weyrwoman." She said in haughty tones.

"Like sticking your tongue out at a fellow weyrwoman?" Asked K'len cheekily.

Talana laughed.

"It's so good to be HOME!" She cried.

oOoOo

Threadfall flown, the queens' wing flew low over High Reaches Hold, and observed a figure waving imperatively.

"_Pilgra says can you go and see what it is about, T'lan."_ Said Segrith._ "She says you can stop slacking and do some work for a change. You have not been slacking though."_ She added.

"_**Tell Pilgra I'm more than happy and ask her if her breeches are getting tighter."**_ Commented T'lan cheerfully; the two women saluted each other with a wave and a grin, then Mirrith peeled off with a wingover and circled down to land neatly, her wings already furling as she touched down.

"_**Show off."**_ Talana said, lovingly.

"_I am very good. And it is right to show people so."_ Replied Mirrith complacently.

oOoOo

Lord Holder Bargen himself was waiting the approach of the young Weyrwoman, accompanied by a youth who resembled him quite closely. The Lord Holder's face was sombre.

"Good day weyrwoman" he said, holding out his hand palm up in formal greeting. "I do not, I'm afraid, know your name." Talana came to a decision before answering.

"I am T'lana" she said. The need to be T'lan was passed but she still felt the contraction appropriate.

"I am happy to make your acquaintance." He tried to sound happy. "I had heard a rumour that High Reaches extended its naming policy to its weyrwomen now." He was, she felt, making polite conversation

"Yes, we are proud to be a part of High Reaches." She told him. "What can I do for you?"

"Ah, yes. I was a little concerned that Thread had not only got through but had fallen in sufficient quantity to kill a member of the groundcrew – off the designated edge of Fall."

"It is regrettable. We do our best to prevent any getting through – but I saw no fall outside where we expected it. Can you show me the place?"

"My son can show you more readily. He found the body; and we've left it there after destroying the infestation with agenothree so you can see what happened."

Talana turned to the lad, who was about her own age, and smiled, holding out her hand. He clasped it.

"Tesso." He said. "My milk brother Darel and I found him." He indicated another lad standing discretely apart. This one was as lanky as the first was stocky, and T'lan sensed a deep friendship between them.

"Well if you three gentlemen would care to hop up on Mirrith we can go the quick way." She suggested, cocking her head enquiringly at the Lord Holder. He nodded; and the boys were clearly thrilled.

"Shells, she's big!" exclaimed Tesso. "I've only ever been on a brown before!"

"And I've never been dragonback at all" grinned Darel, awed. Lord Bargen displayed that he was used to Bronzes by getting up with a minimum of aid, but the lads required Mirrith's full co-operation and a bit of pulling.

"I'm not built to be a hoist, you'll have to help each other I'm afraid." Said Talana, though she surprised them with the strength in her wiry arms. The youngsters gasped as Mirrith took off, and then called instructions on Talana's request.

oOoOo

There were a number of people standing near the body, several of whom made a strategic withdrawal at the arrival of a large golden dragon. The boys got down rather precipitately, Lord Bargen more sedately. Talana jumped, exuberantly and strode over to the body.

The upper torso was covered by the blackened shrivelled Thread killed by agenothree, which had turned his tunic into a stiffened crumbling mess.

"Strange" said Talana "That the Thread should have fallen on the chest – but not the shoulders. Surely it could only have fallen like that if he'd already been lying down." She added, "I'd have sworn Thread never reached this far."

She brushed the acid charred fragments from the body, revealing where the wriggling stuff had begun its consumption of the man. As she cleared it from the chest cavity, ignoring the startled exclamation of protest from the Lord Holder, she saw the red blood pooled below the blackened fragments. She beckoned Lord Bargen over.

"Thread eats as it goes." She said. "There is no blood from a Thread score except where you flick _Between_and it's opened but not consumed a major blood vessel, and that's very rare. This man was dead before Thread touched him."

"By the first egg!" Bargen was taken aback. "How did he die, then?"

Talana pointed to a wound in the man's near intact heart.

"He was stabbed. Just a minute or two more and this would have been consumed. Your son is to be congratulated, my lord on his discovery and prompt action."

"Are you suggesting that someone deliberately put Thread on the body to eat away the wound and cover up his crime?" he asked, shuddering. "That's horrible."

"Horrible indeed, Lord Bargen. And irresponsible in so risking the land – in an area that would not normally be swept."

"If I had not sent the boys to walk a safe area to blood them…." He shook his head. "This must be investigated."

"If you will permit, Lord Holder, I should like to assist. I have had some success in clearing up one or two tricky businesses already."

He looked at her thoughtfully.

"Very well, weyrwoman T'lana." He said.

Talana felt the corpse's jaw and attempted to flex his feet. She frowned.

"This man has been dead since before Threadfall." She declared.

"How can you tell?" asked the Lord Holder.

"Well, I've assisted to lay out bodies for the farewell ceremony – it's one of the duties of junior weyrwomen as a point of returned loyalty – and I've noticed that the body becomes gradually stiffened starting from the jaw and then becomes limp again, starting again from the jaw. This man is stiff all over and whilst it varies, that does mean that he's been dead since at least the beginning of Fall. At a guess, he was killed before Fall and brought out here, then someone caught Thread from the leading edge to put on him and high-tailed it home while everyone else was following Threadfall. It must have taken some nerve to wait around until it was safe."

"You mean" said Tesso, awed, "We might have seen him at it if we'd been a bit earlier."

"Quite so. In fact you might have seen him and thought him to be part of the ground crews."

The boy shook his head.

"We only saw people in groups, and I'd not care to say who, not dressed in hide as protection."

oOoOo

Talana looked around at the holder folk.

"It would help if we know who the dead man was." She said. "Can someone tell me?"

There was a general air of reluctance to speak. Talana tapped her foot with impatience.

"Is he totally unknown to everyone here?" She asked incredulously. She looked around the assembly; most were unwilling to meet her eye. Then one man spoke up.

"Lady, he weren't popular. Maybe there's some as feel he's better off dead where he can't make folks miserable."

"I could do with more specifics there. I'm sure the Lord Holder, who has the reputation of being a very fair man would be lenient if this man was causing harm to others." Bargen nodded, and the man who had spoken told them,

"His name was Kelder. His brother makes glass, my lord, for the hold, but this Kelder is – was – lazy and greedy. See, he come by plenty of marks, how I don't know, and he lends out."

"So why is he disliked?" asked Talana, puzzled. "People who are willing to lend things are generally pretty popular."

"Ah, lady, you don't understand. He'd lend out but he'd expect one eighth in every mark extra for every sevenday you'd borrowed off of him."

Talana calculated quickly.

"So if you borrowed a mark for a turn you'd expect to repay that plus an extra six and seven sixteenths. That's terrible!"

The spokesman shook his head.

"Oh no, lady, it'd be more than that, for he'd figure that every sevenday as you weren't paying, you was borrowing that too, and add that on for figuring the next week."

Talana counted on her fingers for a moment, then gulped.

"That's iniquitous!" She cried. "That's over THREE HUNDRED MARKS!"

"O' course he'd sometimes arrange longer term loans at a better rate for large sums same as he did for Geneder…." He trailed off .

"Geneder?" she asked.

"O'course, there's a lot of people've owed him big sums" he temporised.

"Tell me about Geneder."

"Well, he wanted to extend his holding, see? And there was land held by Storrer, and Storrer said he'd give him the bit by the river for ten good herdbeasts or the value. Well, Geneder had six herdbeasts he could give him and he borrowed the other twenty eight marks off Kelder, on the understanding that he'd have a sevenmonth grace to the harvest then pay back thirty one and a half marks because it was such a large sum, and that Kelder, he reckoned he'd never loan so much without an agreement like that." He added, "What I can't condone is the risk of spreading Thread around. That is recklessly risking the Hold as a whole."

Talana nodded.

"I take it Geneder is having trouble paying."

"Yes, lady. The harvest was poor and the rest of his herdbeasts got sick. He's in flat despair; and Kelder like suggested he could pay off the debt if he gave him his daughter. And her not Twelve turns!" he added indignantly.

Talana nodded.

" It does sound like this Kelder character was asking for it, if this is typical of his dealings." She said. Lord Bargen, is there any reason you could see to take a hard line on someone who's been treated like this Geneder?"

"One could argue, weyrwoman, that anyone who borrows at such rates is a fool; but I would not have been able to calculate the iniquitous rates as quickly as you do; and I suspect few could. It would be very easy to find oneself out of depth in repayments. Leniency would I feel sure be called for in such a case."

"Well then, I expect the man kept accounts. I shall look at them and talk to those he'd been milking." She said. "My lord, if someone can direct me to his dwelling, I shall get on with it."

oOoOo

T'lan took the Lord Holder and the lads back to the Hold where Bargen introduced her to his steward, Nordar, who was also Darnel's father.

"Kelder lived with his brother, Beccon." He told her. "He's been out to one of the smaller holds with glassware, I don't know if he's back yet."

Beccon had indeed returned when they reached his quarters. Talana stared around in delight at the variety of glassware, some coloured like jewels, a vase with leaves, a large long handled pan with a lid, twisted stemmed wine glasses, ruby red flat dishes and other wonders stood on the shelves of the outer workroom area. Beccon himself looked tired, and his hand was bandaged.

"What can I do for you, Nordar?" he asked politely. "I'm afraid I fell from my runner beast and sprained my wrist, so it'll be a few days before I can work." He held up his bandaged hand.

"I'm afraid I've got bad news for you, Beccon, about your brother." Said Nordar.

"Bad news? Has he been hurt?"

"I'm afraid he's dead." The kindly steward put a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Dead? He – he's had an accident?"

"I'm afraid he's been murdered, Beccon. That's why the weyrwoman's here."

Beccon started at the word 'murdered' .He stared at Nordar.

"Murdered? H – how? And how do you know?"

Talana spoke.

"Your brother was stabbed to the heart. Such wounds do not occur accidentally."

He blinked several times, then staggered over to a cupboard and poured himself wine with shaking hands.

"Of course he had enemies." He said, after taking a deep draft. "He loaned money. But – where was he then? Was he out? He wasn't here when I returned, and it was not long since Threadfall. Was he out during Fall?"

"Not as such – and not voluntarily." Said Talana. "Though his killer wanted us to think he was. The body is not pretty. The killer tried to cover up the crime by covering the wound with Thread."

Beccon shuddered violently and turned green.

"Horrible – horrible stuff." He gasped, draining his glass at a gulp.

"Please don't disturb yourself Beccon, but I need to see the records of the money he loaned." Said Talana. He pointed to a doorway.

"All his things are in there." He poured himself another glass.

"Were you fond of your brother?" asked Talana.

"Anyone will tell you we quarrelled all the time. But he was my kin, even if he didn't always behave like it." He added bitterly. "I suppose everything is mine, now?" he asked.

"Presumably – in the absence of other heirs." The steward agreed.

oOoOo

Talana soon found what she was looking for. The dead man had been methodical and tidy. His transactions were marked neatly on the wall of the cavern, covered by a tapestry. There were in those neat figures a tale of countless small miseries, and Talana shook her head at the callousness of the entry that read,

"Clom has killed himself. Widow must pay."

The original loan had been for a porcine that had died; the unfortunate cotholder had been unable to meet even the interest, let alone pay off the capital, and the debt had mounted up. By questioning Nordar she discovered that the man had come to the Hold and hurled himself from the fireheights after seeing someone. Nordar had not previously known why; and as suicide was of course the right of any man, no investigation had been made. Talana discovered that whilst there were many small debts, most seemed to be paying back regularly. Only the widow, Atira, the holder Geneder and one of the Hold's Harpers, one Samwil, appeared to be in deep trouble. She determined to question everyone, however, knowing from her own childhood how fine the line between poverty and plenty could be. Sarel had been a successful cotholder, especially with the runnerbeasts he bred on the side, but a poor harvest would have caused them some hardship.

oOoOo

Talana stretched stiffly. She had not had the chance to bathe after Threadfall, and was regretting it. She had spoken to all the people who owed Kelder money, except the three she had singled out. There had been stories of misery but no one struck her as having the initiative required to kill. Moreover, most of the men could produce friends who had seen them helping with groundsweep or had been at home with their families. Whilst she was well aware that both friends and family would lie for a man if he was popular and his victim was not, the stories had a ring of truth; and she could always re-question any one of them if something occurred to throw suspicion on one of them. She was strongly reminded of Sarel, speaking to the honest, frightened holders; and Sarel could never kill anyone. He would make a total mess of it even if threatened into it by another.

Talana flexed her right arm. It still hurt after long periods holding a flamethrower after having been stretched from its socket holding Lirilly up. She called in the widow Atira.

Atira was a vapidly pretty young woman, barely more than a girl. A babe was at her hip and another child clung to her skirts. Talana motioned her to a seat, and nervously she sat on the extreme edge.

"Kelder is dead." Said Talana. "Somebody killed him."

The pale woman's eyes flamed, and for a moment she took on life. Startled, Talana sensed the sort of power she associated with dragonriders as the woman spoke.

"Good. I'm glad!" She hissed. "He made my man kill himself then wanted me to pay! He was born under the Red Star if anyone was!" She spat. "I never paid him a mark, lady and so help me I told the misbegotten son of the red menace that he could go whistle for it! I'd not hesitate to tell the Lord Holder about him trying to terrorise a widow woman aye, and his rates too! My husband was a fool to get ensnared and I told him so; but he was that keen on getting the Porcine, I'd not the heart…" she ran out of energy for vituperation and buried her head in her hands, sobbing. This set the baby bawling and the little boy started to grizzle. Talana came across the room and knelt beside her, holding her.

"I'm so sorry about your man." She said. "I'd be so lost without mine." The woman hiccoughed and stared at her.

"But weyrwomen are promiscuous – aren't they?" She blurted out. Talana smiled at her.

"Only a few. We have to accept when the dragons fly, we might end up with someone we'd not intended – but most of us manage to, er, fix the odds one way or another." She added, "I'm sorry to come back to business, but for the sake of tidiness I need to find out who killed Kelder. If you did it, no-one will blame you."

"Did it? I wish I had done it. That – that- CREATURE deserved to die, and slowly too!" She clenched her fists.

Talana hugged her. The woman was telling the truth, she felt sure.

"I'm surely in agreement over that." She said.

"So why pursue the matter?"

"If you had killed him, you'd know. Killing someone is a terrible thing, even someone that deserves it as much as Kelder. Someone who has killed needs support and help to get over it."

"Well it wasn't me. I say, good for whoever it was."

"How are you managing?"

The young woman shrugged.

"Badly."

"I think you should try for Impression. You'd not have to leave the Weyr if you failed to Impress. Think about it, huh?"

"My babies!" she said indignantly "I would NEVER leave my babies!"

"And they would grow up weyrbred." Talana patted her on the shoulder and steered her out.

oOoOo

The harper, Samwil, was next.

"I believe you were deeply in debt to one Kelder." Began T'lan

The harper swore, and Talana listened in appreciation and admiration to his articulate invective. When he ran down after about three minutes, she said,

"So you didn't like him then?"

He looked at her, then caught the amusement in her eyes and laughed, ruefully.

"I believe I might have said that."

"You'll not be sad to hear that he's dead, then?"

"Sad? No, I'd be delighted. I hope the little shit suffered."

"No, it was quite quick. He was murdered."

"Well, he had it coming. He…" his face drained. "You think I did it."

"You are one of the people who had good reason. How on Pern did you come to owe him so much?" T'lan asked bluntly. He raised his palms in a gesture of resignation.

"The gee-gees" he admitted. "I'm fascinated by runnerbeasts, and I love the races. I have a system, you see" Samwil told her animatedly "And one day it's going to work."

Talana groaned. Sarel had warned her about 'systems' long ago. People who used them were generally out of pocket.

"They don't work." She said bluntly. "I should know, my foster father breeds runner beasts. However, that's neither here nor there. I need to know if you could have killed him. Where were you at the commencement of Threadfall?"

He groaned.

"I was alone in my room, copying a damaged hide of teaching songs. I was late for sweep and the sweep leader was quite put out. But I didn't see anyone who could verify it."

"I shall check when you arrived with the sweep leader. What's a harper doing on the groundcrews?"

"I was born holdless. It's where my interest in runnerbeasts started; we used to travel the gathers making and mending. I don't like being confined."

She nodded. It was a reasonable explanation; and she could check out his words.

"Do you own a warming pan?" She asked, remembering the stories that F'lar had told her of how they first caught Thread.

"A WHAT? No, I don't. I could get one from the lower caverns though I suppose if I needed one. Anyone could. But I'm hardier than most." He grinned.

Talana dismissed him, and called in Geneder. He looked a haunted man. Talana felt sorry for him.

"I didn't kill him!" He blurted out. "Lot of good it would have done me if I had!" he added bitterly.

"What do you mean? And how did you know Kelder was dead?" Talana asked sharply.

"His brother told me – I met him when I was on my way up." He said. "He suggested I resell the land to pay him what I owed his brother – though he's not going to charge any more for delay. Generous of him." His tone made a lie of the last comment.

"I see." Talana said. "I think that the Lord Holder is going to sort out the financial matters of Kelder; and I don't imagine he's going to expect people to pay back the dreadful rates the man was charging. Can you tell me where you were at the start of Threadfall?"

"Yes, Lady, I spent Fall with a sick bovine. My herd's been ill, and I need to nurse them through it if I'm to have any chance to feed my family." He sounded almost defeated.

"Do you own a warming pan?"

"Yes, of course. You need several in the winter, lady." He looked puzzled at this question. Talana said,

"If you did kill him, the Lord Holder would scarcely blame you in the light of his suggestions about your daughter."

"The Lord Holder's a fair man, lady. But I didn't kill him. If I don't have to pay it all, I'll be able to feed my family this winter. I've already paid three times what I borrowed."

Talana nodded.

"That will all be sorted out." She said. "Steward Nordar is already working on Kelder's calculations to set the fairest solutions. Some people may even get returns from his coffers."

"Thank you my lady." He said simply. "I'd no idea how quick it'd mount up. I could see no way out; even death didn't help Clom's widow."

She patted him on the shoulder. Nordar seemed a good man, and she had every faith in his ability to sort things out. She just had to speak to the groundcrews.

oOoOo

Talana sought out Lord Bargen.

"Well?" he asked. "What have you for me weyrwoman?"

"I think I started from a false premise." She said. "Though not an unreasonable one. People don't kill without reason, and it's usually to bring them some sort of advantage – revenge, to prevent something happening, or gain." She paused. "Thus I needed to know who benefited. It looked as though the greatest benefit would be to those who would free themselves from usury, as harper Samwil says is the word for this type of money-lending. Certainly they would get rid of Kelder, but I am told his brother is now demanding repayment from at least one of the debtors. That displays, I feel, an unbecoming greed. So I am forced to consider him as a suspect too; and with less forgivable motives than the others." She strode backwards and forwards with her hands behind her back as had become her habit when thinking. Bargen asked,

"So – can you work out which one did it?"

"I believe so. I have eliminated the widow Atira from the suspects for several reasons, not least that she could not leave her children for so long – and would not have I think the physical strength to move the body, or even stab it. She is very malnourished. Cotholder Geneder is not strong, but he could get a body on to a runner I think. For both of these, you could argue that the desire to protect kin would add strength, but Geneder owns beasts and Atira does not. He claims to have been with a sick beast during Fall, but he could be lying. He freely admitted having warming pans; which is the sort of thing you'd need to catch Thread. He was not nervous." She turned again and surveyed him thoughtfully. "The harper Samwil was puzzled about the warming pan question." She said. "He suggested that anyone could get one from the lower caverns, which could have been a suggestion to divert suspicion. He did not borrow one though; I checked with the headwoman, who tells me that records are kept for everything. All Warming pans are still there. Samwil was frightened because he thought he could not clear himself because he missed the beginning of fall, but by the testimony of the Sweep Leader he could only have done it if he'd been quick. It's not impossible, but highly unlikely." She leaned on the carved back of a chair.

"So you think his own brother killed him?" Lord Bargen asked incredulously.

"Yes, my Lord. He was supposed to be out with his wares, but he could have got back early, or even arranged to meet Kelder where we found him. He'd probably meet his brother in an out of the way place where he'd not meet someone he knew hated him. In any case, Beccon has a packbeast for his wares. He also has a long handled glass vessel with a lid, perfect for catching Thread. I saw it on his shelves and looked over it. His greed in accosting Geneder suggests that he was covetous of his brother's wealth – and in fact he asked Nordar if he'd inherit. He also displayed an extreme reaction to the thought of Thread consuming the body, the sort of revulsion that suggested he had recently been closer to the stuff than was comfortable. He also had a bandaged hand. He said it was sprained, but I think if you check it you will find it Threadscored and agenothree burned."

Lord Holder Bargen nodded several times, thoughtfully.

"Kelder seems to have been a menace." He said "And I could not find it in my heart to totally blame a debtor who killed him. Even a fool like Samwil – I know where his marks go, but I like to bet myself, so I can understand the attraction – but this is a callous and premeditated crime, planned in detail. Beccon must have made the vessel well in advance and planned it to the finest detail. This is a crime of greed, not desperation, and I will deal with it accordingly. Will you be prepared to return to give testimony if I need it, Weyrwoman?"

"Of course, Lord Bargen. You have only to send for me." She grinned: "Unless I'm flying Thread, in which case my response will be delayed."

He nodded to her; and thankfully she left him to return to the Weyr and her long delayed bath.


	4. Chapter 4

_A couple of deaths in this one but nobody anyone liked._

CHAPTER 4 So You Thought You'd Heard the Last of Koreb?

Talana arrived back at High Reaches Weyr with passengers; Atira had decided to accept her offer of a new life and a chance at Impression, and had presented herself and her children and their meagre belongings. Talana had promptly borrowed some furs from the Hold to wrap them, and had returned with her candidate for the next clutch to be laid. She had been impressed by the restrained whimper that was the woman's only reaction to _Between _though the older child had not unnaturally screamed. Atira tried desperately not to show fear of Mirrith and determinedly patted her foreleg when Talana helped her down.

"They're a little on the big side until you get used to them" explained T'lan "And Mirrith's bigger than most. It's not all puppy fat either." She added, bringing a chuckle from Atira and an indignant SCHNURFF! From Mirrith.

Talana took Atira and the little ones to Keerana for temporary accommodation until there was a clutch. Then she went to report to Pilgra and T'bor.

oOoOo

T'bor had his own problems. On returning from Threadfall he had found that R'mart of Telgar Weyr had sent a small weyrling and an even smaller Brown dragonet and the snide message that as High Reaches was collecting freaks it could have another.

T'bor was furious. He was less furious at the attitude towards High Reaches than at the callousness of fellow dragonmen. And the stupidity of weyrwoman Bedella to let herself be talked into this gross impropriety. Pilgra laid a hand on his arm, sensing his fury.

"Don't frighten the boy." She said quietly.

"T'lan is right." He said between his teeth. "There are dangerous trends that need stopping. The attitude of the Oldtimers is alive and well amongst some modern riders. They were just expressing it more blatantly as a result of turns more than us as dragonriders. We must not let them have the last laugh by becoming like that!" he swallowed his fury to turn to the young boy, who seemed to be all eyes and legs. "Well, lad, you're here to join us, huh? What's your name – and your friend's?"

"Timon, sir, and Denth."

"T'mon you mean."

"Sir, they said he wasn't a proper dragon so I didn't rank a proper contraction, like Lord Jaxom isn't J'xom."

"Wherry teeth!" snapped T'bor. "Of course he's a dragon."

"Sir, I don't think it was wrong to save a dragon life, sir, even if he wasn't a proper dragon, sir." His lip wobbled, so he bit it and thrust out his chin. T'bor groaned inwardly. Not another T'lan, please! He begged fate silently.

"T'mon, you have Impressed. Therefore Denth was intended to be your dragon. Therefore he is a proper dragon, if rather small, and you are a proper rider. He's larger than Ruth was when he hatched so I shouldn't imagine there's be any problems at all." He said more blithely than he felt. "Now sit down boy before you fall down and tell me all about it."

The lad sat, gratefully, and the miniature Brown dragon dropped his head onto the child's knobbly knees.

"Sir, there was this smaller egg. It didn't crack. I thought if Lord Jaxom could save a dragon, why shouldn't I. So I hit the shell, and out came Denth!" Sudden joy spread across his thin face at the memory of Impression. "They said I had done a wrong thing sir, but I'm glad."

"It is never wrong to save a dragon. Lytol taught Lord Jaxom that, and I'm glad it's something you recognise too. There will be a use for Denth. Telgar's loss is our gain. I am sure that we will have every reason to be proud of you both." Yes, R'gar, he thought to himself, I am proud of my people. All of them.

"Oh sir, thank you sir!" The boy's face lit up. He had been expecting even more scolding and anger from the Weyrleader he'd been foisted onto.

oOoOo

T'bor sent for R'gar and got T'lan first. She gave him a brief resume of the High Reaches Hold affair while they waited for R'gar: then T'bor introduced T'mon and Denth to the weyrlingmaster.

"We'll get you sorted into the weyrling barracks, lad" said R'gar. "It'll be a bit awkward for you because the group from Ralenth's clutch are a good few sevendays ahead of you, and he'll be smaller anyhow, but we'll sort something special out for him."

Ralenth had risen four months after Mirrith and had laid her eggs at about the time the twins had been born. R'gar had been very irritable until T'kil agreed to deputise so that he could spend more time with Talana. Now that she was back, Talana was looking forward to taking an interest in the newest batch of weyrlings; and she and R'gar both knew they would have to watch out for the inevitable hazing this lad would get, see it did not pass beyond good-natured teasing.

"Your Denth could be a great help." T'lan told T'mon. "When he grows, he'll be nippier even than the greens, and we can fly him to help protect the queens' wing. Some of the greens are so wherry headed they don't help much. A Brown like Denth should be a lot steadier."

Like T'bor, Talana was furious at the attitudes that had upset this boy and wanted to prove that he could show his and his dragon's worth. She hoped that Denth would survive; the boy was to young to have to handle that sort of tragedy. If anyone ever was old enough; but to have your life halved before you were even adult – that would be terrible. Talana considered T'mon's situation for a moment; then bespoke Ramoth to pass on the matter to Lessa and F'lar. Better to have an unofficial word than to have a confrontation. She mentioned this to Orth, and left it to him to reason with T'bor over his desire to fly over to Telgar and plant a fist in several faces. Not that she did not sympathise with this desire, especially when she discovered that T'mon had been viciously beaten for his 'offence'. Reluctantly the boy told her that his father, a Brown rider, had been angry at him for bringing shame upon their line. T'lana had snorted and made pointed comments on the shame of bullying little kids as compared with the right behaviour of helping dragonkind.

oOoOo

Talana had been thinking a lot about her foster father, Sarel after talking to the cotholders at High Reaches Hold; and her conversation with T'mon gave her food for thought.

"I didn't treat him that well." She told R'gar as they lay together. R'gar snorted.

"I should think he'd know why." He said.

"But the way T'mon has been treated, and Seela at Fort brings home that Weyrfolk can become callous." She told him. "I'd be a hypocrite to condemn such behaviour and then not find it in myself to be more compassionate than I am."

"You little idiot, you are compassionate." He said, caressing her.

"But I find it difficult not to get impatient with weeping ninnies and cringing fools."

"You don't suffer fools, sweeting, but you try to be patient with them. No-one can ask more." R'gar knew that Talana set herself impossibly high standards and he loved her the more for it; he just wished she'd not have crises of conscience at just pre-dawn. Well, there was one way of silencing her cares; and rolling over to press her down on the bed he took it.

oOoOo

Next day, Talana set off on Mirrith to see Sarel. He was making sure the last of the winter fodder was in before the bad weather set in in earnest and dropped a bale and backed in terror from Mirrith as she landed in the meadow furthest from the Runners. T'lan slipped easily from her back and went over.

"Ah – Talana - I mean, T'lan." He remembered. "I had no idea they got so big. Ah – what - what did you- ah, what can I do for you?"

Talana stood a moment; then she embraced him roughly.

"I wanted to see you – father." She said. "I wanted to say I'm sorry I was - harsh - last time we met."

He held her, and wept.

"You had every right. I've wished over and over I'd done something different so I'd not lost you."

Awkwardly she thumped his back reassuringly.

"We live in different worlds now – but I still love you." She found it was true – that one did not stop loving people just because they had hurt one. She knew that now she could visit Sarel anytime without resenting him; and she was glad.

oOoOo

After spending some time with Sarel just chatting about life in the Weyr, she promised to bring her sons to visit when they were big enough, and flew off. She had time, she thought, to pop in and visit a cousin of the same age as herself, the younger sister of Lindanna whom she had mentioned to R'gar as a prolific mother. Lindanna's sister, Zaylinda was a few months younger than Talana and they had often played together as children. She had seen less of the family after her mother died, for their mother, Zaylana was her mother's sister and they had been close.

Reactions in the small hold where Talana's relations lived were mixed as a large green-sheened golden queen came in to land. Some fled. Others stared. Children looked longingly from cover. Talana's uncle Lindan came forward in some trepidation.

"Weyrwoman? Can we be of assistance?" He asked politely but warily.

"Lindan? Don't you know me?"

He stared.

"No, weyrwoman, I can't say I do." He replied as Zaylana joined him with an air close to hostility at Talana's question.

"It's me – T'lana, as I now am. Zaylana, don't you know your sister-daughter?

"Little Talana? I thought you were dead. That idiot Sarel told me what he'd done." She put her hands on her hips and tossed back her hair. "I told him right about, I can tell you!" She said. "Told him he should have brought you here. We'd have come up with something." She hugged Talana to her. "Well you seem to have done well for yourself. Our little Talana a weyrwoman!"

Talana hugged her back; and was taken off to see the latest babies. She managed to impart the knowledge that she was herself a mother now, that the babies were partially weaned – Lanelly not believing in hanging about when Talana's milk started to fail – and that they were too small to travel really yet. In the middle of this, Zaylinda flung herself on Talana, and begged her,

"Please Talana help me! Take me on search so I don't have to marry him!"

"What's this?" Snapped Talana, suddenly incisive.

"But it's such an honour – I thought you wanted to marry him!" Said Lindan, looking confused.

"I thought it would be nice to be rich – I didn't know what he was like until the other day!" the girl cried.

"Tell me about it." Talana did not want half stories.

"He holds land next to father's." explained Zaylinda. "It was a good marriage from that point of view although I'm only a commoner; and I was – well, I just thought it would be nice to be rich. But a few days ago, I found a holder girl on the borders of our lands crying because he had had her, and he – he'd whipped her and – and bitten her on –on well, it was pretty awful!" She finished. Her father stared at her.

"Girl, why didn't you tell me?" He asked." Of course you must not marry such a brute."

"I didn't think you'd believe me." She said. "I didn't realise people could do such things, worse even than Oldtimers did, and I thought it would sound made up." Her father put an arm around her and raised his eyes to heaven at Talana.

"Foolish child" he told her "Don't you think that I'd realise you could never make up anything that dreadful?"

"Who is this obnoxious lordling?" asked Talana.

"His name is Lord Koreb" said Zaylana "And I had doubts about him as a bridegroom from the first."

Talana's eyes had lit with a kind of unholy enthusiasm.

"Koreb." She said softly. "I might have known." She smiled a grim smile. "Koreb and I have –unfinished business."

Her uncle gasped.

"Y-you know him? W- what has he done?"

"He kicked Mirrith when she hatched. Also he nearly caused the death of my man – he got his father to come and try to knife him."

"Well, it's different now – we can tell him to get lost. Lord Deckter won't let him walk all over us." Said Zaylana.

"You have too much faith in authority." Said her husband. "We might have been able to hide Talana until Meron forgot about her, but I doubted that at the time. And Larnel and Koreb are next to us – they'd be able to cause so much damage and we could do nothing about it. The best thing to do is for Zaylinda to go to the weyr as she suggested."

"I'm happy to take her" said Talana "And I think she's got a good chance of Impressing; but I'm not letting Koreb walk all over my kin. I've laid him out once and he's not hard, just a bully."

Her aunt wrung her hands and her uncle looked unhappy. One of her male cousins ran in.

"Father! That Lord Koreb fellow's coming."

"_**Mirrith, stay behind the barn for a little while"**_ Talana instructed.

"_If you wish. Why?"_

"_**Koreb comes. I would not like to spoil the surprise."**_

"Zaylin, give me some breeches and a tunic." She said to her cousin.

"Cousin?" he looked nonplussed.

"D'you think I can fight in this?" She fingered her dress.

"FIGHT?" Came from several throats.

"Of course. He's insulting my kin by suggesting a union with his foul self; and he's raped a girl – probably many – most brutally. I am sworn as a dragonrider of Pern to protect the people. I did not protect her but I can prevent it ever happening again – by one means or another."

Her uncle shuddered at the chill in her voice but her aunt nodded approval.

"Can you do it?" She asked practically.

"I learned some knife fighting as a matter of weyrling training; and I asked my father to give me some tips when I was visiting at Benden." She said. "He wasn't too keen but I pointed out that what happened before can happen again. And Mnementh backed me up." Her aunt's expression betrayed no surprise; Talana had been fairly certain that her mother had hidden nothing from her sister. There were questions from various cousins, but she ignored them and quickly changed. She went outside in time to see Koreb and two cronies riding up.

oOoOo

T'lan was the last person Koreb had been expecting to see. He stared at her then scowled.

"Whaddya think you're doing here, runty – your green died and you're begging for work?"

T'lan walked forward to about half a length's distance from him.

"I can't let a creep like you marry my cousin Zaylinda." She said. "Moreover, I know about how you treat your people. We've unfinished business, Koreb."

Koreb laughed scornfully, and dismounted from his runner. He passed the reins to one of his cronies.

"This won't take long." He sneered, drawing his belt knife. Talana noted clinically how like Meron's his voice had become.

"Mirrith" she said conversationally "Prevent those others from interfering."

The front length or so of Mirrith appeared grinning from behind the stone barn; and she stalked between Koreb and his companions. One of the runners reared, throwing the young man; and he deemed it a prudent excuse to chase it. The other held his beast in check but retreated.

"WHAT?" Koreb half turned.

Talana took the opportunity to fling off the loose tunic and reveal the tight bodice she wore underneath; the tunic she kept wound round her left arm. The surprise had him off balance and she moved in, thrusting with her own short knife before he could recover, forcing him to take the defensive. He half recovered and managed,

"So – Nabol gets the opportunity to send another Queen_ Between_ for all time."

Talana kept her temper only with difficulty; she knew he intended to make her angry and throw herself at him. Talana knew that Koreb relied on his strength in fighting; she had to stay out of reach of his free hand or she would be at his mercy. But she had thought about this day many times, and had planned several moves. She let Koreb force her back, taunting her all the while, as she kept just out of his reach. She was watching his chest to gauge his actions the way F'lar had taught her, the way he'd been taught by C'gan. Then she seemed to slip! Koreb was over her in a moment, Knife poised for the death blow; but there was the moment's hesitation as he wondered whether to humiliate her by taking her first that she knew would pass his mind; and she yelled with her 'inner voice'

"_**YOU!"**_

Koreb reeled backwards and simultaneously she was rising, not off balance at all, driving the knife upwards. She knew she had the line wrong for the heart as she moved, and changed the blow to a cut as her knife entered his body. Koreb threw his arms wide in pain, terror and surprise; and Talana fell back in horror as his guts fell from the ruined silken tunic, squirming and grey-purple like some obscene form of Thread; and Koreb scrabbled frantically to try to remake his belly. Talana took a step backward and found herself against a hard chest.

"You need to finish him off. You can't let him die that way." R'gar's quiet voice spoke. Talana didn't think to ask what he was doing there. The habit of obedience to that tone of voice from him was ingrained, and she swallowed, approaching the kneeling figure with a lap-full of intestines. Her strike was swift and sure, into the throat and up into the brain; and the young man fell over. Talana let go of the knife and turned and flung herself into R'gar's waiting arms. He held her. The voices of the dragons in her mind spoke to her and soothed her, helped her face the fact that she had actually killed. She had not the inhibitions that the weyrbred did, and she knew that it was the only way of dealing with Koreb, but she felt sick and ill. Presently she emerged from R'gar's tunic, and he stroked her face.

"Why didn't you call me in to do that?" He asked, roughly. "When Laranth told me what you were up to, I was terrified! And that last stunt – if Laranth hadn't been listening in on you – " he shook his head, and held her to him. "Don't you EVER do anything like that again." He told her.

oOoOo

Talana was recovering in her uncle's hold and had introduced R'gar to her relatives when her lover happened to glance out of the window. He sighed.

"I knew that would happen."

"What, dear?" Talana looked alarmed.

"Larnel" he said laconically. "Thought those lace clad snots would run for him as soon as Koreb looked to be in trouble. Why do you think I haven't taken you home? I didn't want him to attack your kin. This is between him and me. It is I suppose inevitable."

"It's my fight." Said Talana. "I killed his son."

"I have prior claim." His voice was uncompromising. "He tried to kill me treacherously first." He strode out of the door and Talana started to follow. Her aunt put a hand on her arm to stop her, but Talana threw it off. Zaylana shook her head. This was all very frightening; and dragongirls fighting as well as their menfolk! It didn't seem right – but Zayli's daughter…not perhaps that surprising. And hadn't her true sire rid them of the tyrant Fax!

oOoOo

Larnel recognised R'gar.

"What have you done with my son, dragon shit?" he snarled.

"I've done nothing. He duelled T'lan; and lost." R'gar shrugged.

"You lie."

"Not one of my habits; I'm no spawn of Meron. Cut out the preliminaries, you're wasting my time. I presume you're hoping to finish what you started in the Weyr."

Larnel drew his knife. He had put on a little more weight, R'gar noted; and that was to the good. He employed the same tactics as before, this time secure in the knowledge that the ground was firm, and the day overcast. Dancing lightly on his feet he waited until the man was blowing hard before he moved in. His first instinct was to wound the man and satisfy honour; but he looked into the cruel eyes and knew that if he did not finish this he would never have a moment's peace if ever Talana or his children were in Nabol. Larnel would not ever let the matter go; and with a calmness that surprised himself R'gar ran his knife directly into the man's heart under his guard.

oOoOo

R'gar had sustained a slight wound during the fight, for Larnel was practised with the knife. R'gar was only too thankful that Koreb had been to lazy to learn more than the rudiments and had not practised to care about taking a wound himself. Zaylana assisted T'lan in dressing it, and Zaylinda watched, big eyed.

"Will I have to fight people if I Impress?" She blurted out. R'gar smiled at her.

"No, child, it's not standard for Weyrwomen to fight. Your cousin T'lana just does her own thing." He smiled at Talana.

"I went to the weyr dressed as a boy" Talana explained. "Koreb was the bully of the candidates. He couldn't make me crawl, so he's always hated me. I've known for a long time that we would fight one day. He was bad for Pern, and had no respect for dragons."

"Dragonmen try not to fight." R'gar added. "But when we have no choice, we like to win. I'll go and see Lord Deckter and explain the situation."

"You're not going _between_ with that open wound." Said Talana. "You rate the rest of us about it often enough. You'll stay here overnight and I'll see Lord Deckter."

oOoOo

Lord Holder Deckter was honoured at being visited by a Queenrider, and told Talana so when she introduced herself. She gave him a rather wry smile.

"You may feel differently in a few minutes, my lord." She said. "I come to report a double duel that I and my weyrmate – who presents his apologies for not attending through being wounded – were involved in a duel which has resulted in the deaths of two of your kinsmen."

"Oh yes?" Said Deckter hopefully. The only kin he felt were not fully expendable were his sons; and he knew they'd never be stupid enough to duel.

"I fought and killed Koreb, who once kicked Mirrith; my weyrmate R'gar was forced to fight Larnel who had fought him before." She reported. Deckter knew the story of Koreb's expulsion and his father's subsequent actions, and all that surprised him was that the weyrfolk had taken so long to take action. A pragmatic man he recognised that he was well rid of them – as well as having lands now to give as a reward to a supporter. He nodded in the business like way that set him apart from most of the Lords Holder.

"Thank you for telling me this, Weyrwoman T'lana." He said. "I recognise the weyr has had a long standing quarrel with those two. But tell me – " his curiosity could not be contained "- how did a little bit of a thing like you kill a brute like Koreb?"

"I'm faster." She said. "And his fighting style is non existent. He relies on keeping people too scared to fight him." Deckter nodded.

"I didn't know weyrwomen fought." He said.

"They don't. But he kicked Mirrith; and he's been raping girls. That makes it a woman's business. Besides, he was trying to get his hands on my uncle's lands by marrying my cousin. It's all quite complex." She said. "By the way, I hope you don't mind, I'm taking my cousin and probably one of my male cousins on search. It's a little early, but I want to avoid any reprisals from Larnel and Koreb's cronies."

"I will see to it that there are no reprisals weyrwoman; but take on search whoever is worthy. Nabol is proud to supply dragonmen and women."

oOoOo

Talana stayed politely to take refreshment with Lord Deckter, and found him a pleasant man, blunt and to the point. They enjoyed a pleasant chat about his plans and ambitions for Nabol; and she filled him in on how well Sh'rilla and Tyrin were doing. She was pleased to note that he was genuinely pleased for them, and that he had already started extensive programs for poverty relief. She returned to R'gar reassured about the future of Nabol.

"Of course" she said "It requires his heir to do as well as him. But I hear his sons are good solid men."

"It's just as well." R'gar said. "It means you won't have to interfere when he dies."

She threw a pillow at him.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 Sometimes People WANT to Disappear

Talana was feeling snippy. There was no other way to describe it, and she knew she was taking it out on those around her. Why, she'd even snapped at little Rofel when he'd redelivered his breakfast porridge in her lap that morning and him too little to understand. She'd hugged him after, when she'd cleaned them both up of course but she felt so restless. The snow outside was dingy grey with blackdust, crackdust and she wanted to do something, but nothing appealed. There were records to copy to help Pilgra and she wanted nothing to do with them.

"_You are keeping me awake."_ Grumbled Mirrith. Shards and shells, even Mirrith was snippy!

Then it dawned on her.

"It's more than a year since you last rose, isn't it?" She asked Mirrith. Mirrith said that she neither knew nor cared. The light was bad; but Talana's practised eye detected an increasing golden gleam to her hide, and her bad mood evaporated.

oOoOo

Mirrith rose late in the afternoon two days later, and attracted enough suitors to satisfy her vanity before Laranth caught her and brought her home. The weyrlings had a holiday and spent most of it getting wet and snowy. Y'lara sought out T'lan afterwards and sought her advice on remaining celibate until her Tanath rose as opposed to getting in some practise first. Talana considered deeply.

"My first experience was dragon-driven" she explained "But it was second-hand because of me hearing all dragons. I'd be inclined, if you're sure you've got M'kel well hooked, to have him first and it will help to bond your dragons too."

Y'lara blushed.

"Is it obvious?" She asked, laughing self-consciously.

"To everyone but M'kel." Grinned Talana. "Go for it. He needs someone special – and I think you've got what it takes." Impulsively she hugged Y'lara. "Just ask Calla for the herbs – take some time to enjoy him before you start having babies." She added, "Why don't you get him to take you to Lord Bargen's winter Gather – getting him to help sort out Tanath first, so you arrive late and stay late – then you've a good excuse to suggest going to his weyr so you don't disturb her."

Y'lara grinned.

"Nice idea." She said. "I think I'll do just that." She had blushed in pleasure at Talana's praise and secretly hoped to model herself on the self possessed T'lan. Praise from someone she so admired was of immense value to her!

oOoOo

Talana and R'gar also decided to drop in on the Gather with Sagarra. This was the highlight of the year in the High Reaches with more than just a Gather. The lake near the Hold froze solid; and sporting events and skating took place with music from harpers. It was a colourful occasion, and Talana was as excited as Sagarra, never having been. Lanelly declined to come, saying that it was too cold for her bones, which Talana pooh-poohed; but she was adamant. They also took Zaylinda and the young twin cousins Zaynil and Linzayn whom Talana remembered only as irritating brats; but the intervening turns had improved them without diminishing their capacity for mischief and they had a strong sense about them that Talana recognised as potential for Impression. Lindan and Zaylana were happy for their children to have the chance to Impress though they had some misgivings about their younger daughter's happiness. Talana had promised to bring any or all of them straight back home if they wished to leave, and to bring them on visits in any case. She had also pointed out that parents were permitted to watch hatching; and her aunt and uncle were awed at the honour. Thus her cousins were living at the weyr waiting for a clutch. Lord Deckter might have promised no reprisals; but Talana was a realist. He too had his limitations.

The Gather was as exciting as they could have wished, and R'gar hired skates for them all. Amid much laughter they fell about until they got the hang of it, then watched the experts racing across the ice. There were competitions of a sport called curling where heavy stones were glided across the ice to score points by some strange and arcane system that took them the entire match to begin to understand. Then two teams played ice hurley, which appeared to be a contest involving hitting each other with sticks in an attempt to move a smaller puck than was used in curling between a designated pair of goal posts. Lord Bargen came over and greeted them.

"Weyrwoman, you will be pleased to know that Beccon confessed to killing his brother; and because of the recklessness of his use of Thread I had little choice, I felt, but to banish him. I have called a Holders' Conclave in a month's time to discuss a unified policy over the sort of usury his brother was extorting. I was hoping you would come and give evidence?"

"I'd be happy to do so, Lord Bargen." Replied Talana. "If you feel that the Lords Holder will not feel that the Weyr is interfering." F'lar's exhortations about politics kept her cautious.

"Weyrwoman T'lana, this is the business of all in power on Pern. Though I take your point; but if you are merely stating your findings, no-one could quibble with that, could they?" Talana smiled a little cynically; but bowed her head in acquiescence. She knew that with the word of a Queenrider to back his story he would have a better chance of forcing some kind of policy change; providing she said nothing to suggest it was needed!

oOoOo

The family was considering leaving – or at least the adults were – when Talana was accosted by a well-dressed man.

"Would you be Weyrwoman T'lana, the one they say is good at solving mysteries?" He asked

"I an T'lana – and I have solved one or two little problems." She concurred. He grunted.

"Need your services. Name's Gerit, Holder of Ogren." Ogren, Talana recalled was to the north of High Reaches Weyr and to the east, on the northern border with Nabol. It was a small but prosperous hold specialising in fine llama wool. The Holder continued, "My daughter has disappeared. I just returned home to find her gone; so I prevailed upon the green rider stationed at the hold to return me to seek you out. I trust you'll be able to find her quickly, she's due to be married to Lord Aven."

Talana bristled a little at the man's tone; but it could be concern for his daughter hidden in trivialities so she said nothing, especially if a girl's life might be at stake.

"Very well, I'll come." She said. She reached out to the dragon he had indicated, a very young Green whose rider was gaining experience by being at a hold. The impression that she gained of Holder Gerit was that the rider, T'gref liked him not at all; and Reeth was not happy about the way she was treated as a beast of burden. Via Reeth she discovered that T'gref had taken no interest in Gerit's daughter and could not even remember what she looked like. He was uninterested in emotional entanglements with either sex just yet. Presumably why he had been sent to such an out of the way place, mused Talana; dragon more mature than the rider. He'd been sent out while she was in the Harper Hall, one of her own batch of weyrlings and a good turn and a half younger than her. He gave her a wave as he took off with Gerit and Mirrith took the co-ordinates from Reeth and followed smoothly.

She barely had time to greet T'gref before Gerit hustled her in. His lady wife welcomed Talana warmly and offered her klah or Tillek wine.

"Klah, please." Said Talana. "It's too cold for anything else." She held her hands to the fire roaring in the big fireplace. "I'll like to see your daughter's room as soon as possible if I may; it may give me some ideas. What is her name?"

"Geriana" answered the girl's mother. "She went to her room soon after the midday meal; but she seems to have gone out. She went down and saddled a llama. The groom did not go with her. My husband has already chastised him." Her voice was colourless. "I expect she has got lost somewhere. If she has had the sense to shelter it will be almost impossible to find her. It has been snowing today and there are no tracks visible now."

"The weyrwoman is bound to be able to find her from dragonback and bring the silly chit back." Said Gerit confidently.

"Let me see her room and I can see what chance there is of that." Talana said.

"Her room? Wherry teeth woman, she's not in her room! She's out there somewhere!" Shouted the Holder. Talana looked at him.

"I'm sure concern has made you forget your manners." She said coolly. "But what Geriana has with her may give me a vital clue as to where she may be headed and why: and whether she has with her enough warm clothing to survive."

Holder Gerit subsided slightly muttering something about 'women' and 'clothes on the brain' and retired in poor temper, leaving his wife to conduct Talana to Geriana's room.

Talana searched in vain for certain items she would have expected to find in a woman's chamber; and noted also that the clothes press was not over filled. The bed was covered with a light embroidered coverlet only. She picked up a heavy roll of fine hides and unrolled it to reveal a series of extremely competent drawings and paintings of local mountain scenery, including an old volcanic peak, much weathered, with a lake in the caldera, almost a miniature weyr. It appeared in different seasons and from variations of angle, and one summertime sketch from within the old crater. There appeared to be some erasure by the cliff wall; and peering closely, Talana reckoned some dark feature had originally occupied the place. She re-rolled the pictures but seemed to forget to replace them.

"Your daughter is a talented artist." She said. The lady smiled.

"Yes, she spends many hours sketching on wood, stone and hide. My husband thinks it a waste of time as does her future husband; but I have some say in this hold." Talana felt she was having some kind of message conveyed.

"Geriana's betrothed – tell me about him."

"He is one of Fax's side issues." She said, tight lipped.

"Your daughter is high spirited?"

"Extremely."

"Then" said Talana "I think I can promise you that it is extremely unlikely that I will be able to return her to the bosom of her family. The conditions are very harsh; even without the dangers of Threadfall, it would be impossible to guarantee survival. The nights are too cold for anyone to live – unprotected."

"Will you be able to let me know?" her mother picked things up quickly.

"T'gref's Reeth is a clutch mate of Mirrith." She assured the woman. "Communication between them is easy."

oOoOo

Talana told Holder Gerit much the same; that survival under such conditions were difficult.

"Moreover" she added "Since the girl appears to have fled, it's not my part to return her to where she is apparently unhappy. If you've given her cause to flee and she is dead, it is on your conscience."

Gerit blustered and swore, threatening to expose her to T'bor and F'lar and Lord Holder Bargen. Talana listened unmoved.

"My duty is to protect." She said. "Not to help you oppress. If the girl had committed some crime I might reconsider, depending on what she had done. As it is, I wish her luck." And she turned on her heel and left. She told T'gref on the way out, "He'll be sending you with a letter of complaint to T'bor presently. Tell T'bor I'll explain later."

oOoOo

High into the night air on Mirrith she unrolled the pictures again, having walked out with them still in her hand.

"Given that she dare not be more than three hours form the place " she mused "in order to reach it in daylight and set up house – presuming she'd had the sense to arrange firewood at the time she first painted this – she'll not have been there long. Mirrith, is this a good enough visualisation for you?" She showed the little queen her visualisation of the caldera made a nightime winter scene. "Bit of a repetition really" she grinned, remembering that wild, desperate flight on Laranth.

"_The visualisation is very clear. Are we going there?"_ Mirrith asked; and as Talana assented, transferred _Between._

oOoOo

The thin wisp of smoke from the ancient crater might have been a sign that the volcano was once again active; but the faint smell of woodsmoke as Mirrith circled round belied that notion. The crater it came from may have been a distant secondary cone for the High Reaches magma chamber; it was certainly not to the same scale. It would weyr perhaps five or six dragons at a pinch; Mirrith declared it was just a nice size for her and Laranth. It had a small tarn – Mirrith-sized as the young dragon was quick to point out – by the broken edge. This apparently drained slowly down the mountain, for a narrow waterfall was caught in a fine column of ice like the twisted glass stems of fine wine glasses, glistening in the light if the moon Timor. The frozen lake shone with the moon's silver radiance, making the miniature bowl quite light. Talana directed Mirrith in to land as quietly as she could, and made her way to the cave she had suspected existed.

Inside the cave a fur-clad figure was cooking on a crackling fire which was her only light; a llama was tethered at the other end of the substantial cavern.

"Geriana, I presume." Said Talana. The figure jumped, spilling the pot of food, and assumed a defensive posture. "Oh, don't worry." Talana continued. "I'm not about to take you back to your father nor to Fax's spawn. I'm a dragonrider. I'm here to offer you the choice between coming to the Weyr, and staying here. If you decide to stay put, I or someone I trust, will drop in on you from time to time to see that you're all right."

Geriana stared at her open mouthed for a minute.

"How did you find me?" She asked.

"Your paintings." Talana waved the bundle. "If you did come to the Weyr, you'd have a guaranteed job painting places as a visualisation for people to go to. Mirrith was easily able to bring me **between **to here using those paintings. And if you have the imagination to change the season of a scene – why, you'd be invaluable!" She finished enthusiastically.

"I – I don't know." The girl said. "It's nice being my own person – doing what I want for a change. Do you see?"

"Of course. And it's your decision. Though if you stay here, I'd be grateful to commission you to paint for us just the same – maybe we could pay you in provisions?"

Geriana thought about it. She had absorbed plenty of economic lessons living in an isolated hold, and she realised that whilst she could probably survive, she could do even better if she had a means of barter.

"Very well." She said. "Would the offer of transfer to the Weyr still stand if I could not survive on my own here?"

"Certainly. I notice you've been preparing for a while though, so I should imagine you'll do well. Was that a vegetable plot I saw outside?"

"Yes, I brought some seeds and plants up when I first found this place. Father's been talking about finding me a husband for some time. Lord Aven is a pig and he won't let me draw; so as he's fixed the wedding, I left. I'm only afraid he might come looking."

"Not without these" grinned T'lan, tossing her the pictures. "Besides, I told him anyone out unprotected overnight was bound to die of exposure. He'll be furious, but you're more or less officially dead."

Geriana heaved a sigh of relief; and again Talana was grateful for Sarel. Why this girl's blood father cared less for her than ever Talana's foster father had done. Sarel could be bullied, but he'd never have considered her as an asset, a chattel for disposal to make alliances.

oOoOo

Back in the weyr, Talana told R'gar about Geriana.

"I think she'll do a good job of surviving" she told him. "And she needs the time to find herself. But it's my belief she could Impress, she's got the strength of will, and she didn't react too badly to Mirrith. She was startled of course; but she did not give ground. I thought to invite her to some hatchings if she doesn't join us anyway and see what happens."

"Is that entirely moral?" He asked.

"Maybe not; but the dragonets need to be given the widest possible choice."

R'gar laughed.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're devious, my love?" He asked. She grinned unrepentantly.

"I've been taking lessons from Pilgra." She declared.

oOoOo

Talana was taken aback to waken next morning feeling horribly nauseous. In fact she barely made it to the necessary in time. When she had sorted herself out she asked Mirrith for a lift across the bowl to go and see Calla.

"Hmmm." Said Calla. "You and R'gar er, celebrated your homecoming enthusiastically, I suppose?"

"Well – yes." Talana blushed. Calla thought it sweet that she still could.

"Seems like typical morning sickness to me." She told the girl. Talana stared at her in near horror.

"I thought it got harder to get pregnant the more time you spent _Between_!" she said.

"It does. But some people are more fertile than others. And I remember you mentioning that twins run in your family and you cousin Lindanna has a baby a year. These things are carried on the female side, you know."

Talana sat down heavily.

"No bad Threadfall for the first trimester – that's handy, anyway." She muttered. "And Mirrith will soon be too egg-full to go _Between_ anyway. Lord Bargen's hosting the meeting he wants me to attend and that's easy straight flight. Could be a lot less convenient."

Calla laughed.

"That has to be a first for babies. In my experience, they're as inconvenient as possible." Laughed Calla, and hugged her. "Congratulations – at least, I hope so."

"Oh yes!" said Talana. "I was just a bit taken aback. I wasn't sick with the twins, though." She added, puzzled.

"All pregnancies are different. Maybe that's all it is; maybe it's a girl and you carry boys better. Maybe it's because you've been flitting about _Between_ a bit too close to the danger period."

Talana nodded.

"Thanks Calla, I appreciate it. Sorry to be a worry wherry."

"Always ask, girl. I'm always here."

oOoOo

R'gar was also taken aback; but happy.

"Although" he said, "If you're not certain about it, a few flights _between_ right now…"

Talana gave him an old fashioned look.

"I'll be sterile soon enough." She said. "Let's not waste what we're offered. Besides, it would go against what we said to T'mon. If it dies, that's the way it is; if it lives – and putting up with me going between suggests it wants to – it deserves me taking care of it."

oOoOo

Weyrbound again, Talana turned again to her mathematics for solace, restudying the figures Masterminer Nicat had produced for stress and strain calculations. She was hoping to extend them to woods; and especially to study the ironwood, which she had heard grew in Southern. R'cal had regaled her with fisherman's tales as soon as he found that she was interested; and Talana suggested to Pilgra that, as the weyrcarpenter was retiring anyway, a forward looking Journeyman woodcrafter who would not be averse to experimenting would be a rather good idea. And a trip to Southern with R'cal using visualisation from the fishercraft boy who'd been brought in by him on search….

Pilgra laughed.

"I can tell you're pregnant" she said. "You get this fix-it fixation. Well, it's not unreasonable. And High Reaches is one of the few places Bendarek could send a progressive young journeyman. I'll see to drafting a message and leave it to you to corrupt R'cal and what's his name."

"Vargion." Replied Talana. "He's distantly related to Masterfisher Idarolan."

_There's going to be more about Geriana in the future._


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 A New Weyrwoodcrafter and a Disturbing Death

Hallon whistled happily to himself as he lifted the trays of wood-pulp and put them to press for turning into the sheets of paper his master had invented. It was a tedious job, but these sheets had to be perfect for the Harper Hall, and the journeyman did not grudge the tedium. Master Bendarek encouraged him to experiment with the quality and composition of the sheets so long as there was no immediate demand, and it added another dimension to his craft. Hallon had not long walked the tables and he was still very conscious of the new journeyman's knot on his shoulder, and proud to be one of Master Bendarek's chosen pupils trusted with experimentation. He had just set the press for the last sheet when another journeyman came into the workshop.

"Hallon – Master wants to see you. There's a dragonman with him."

A dragonman! Exciting, thought Hallon, wondering what was happening. Quickly he put away his tools and washed and dried his hands and hurried to the master's workshop. Outside he saw a blue dragon hobnobbing with the resident blue. The newcomer dragon looked at him with curiosity; and Hallon nodded to it, a little stiffly, by way of greeting.

Master Bendarek was in his workshop with a tall leather clad man in his middle years and threadscored features, and a young lad sporting the knots of an apprentice fishercrafter. The strangers regarded him with frank curiosity; the man studying him thoughtfully.

"Well, Hallon, how do you feel about a placement out?" Asked the Master.

"Sir? Of course I'd be proud to be worthy of your trust, sir." Hallon's heart hammered against his ribs. A placement out meant seniority!

"You're quite a radical, Hallon." Bendarek said.

"Yes, sir. No one's complained yet though. At least" he amended "Not very much."

"High Reaches have specifically requested someone innovative. High Reaches Weyr that is." The Masterwoodcrafter twinkled at him. "Do you think you could handle that sort of assignment?"

High Reaches Weyr! They had a reputation for being slightly crazy there. But a chance to be allowed to innovate – few Holders would tolerate it!

"Sir, I'd be delighted."

"This dragonman – R'cal – has also made a proposition for a venture which could benefit the craft as well as your future work." Bendarek waved a hand to R'cal and the dragonman took over.

"Are you game for a trip to Southern?" He asked.

This must be some kind of test.

"Well, sir, I guess it's like the healer's brews. Potentially not too pleasant but probably a worthwhile thing in the end if there's a good reason to it."

The blue rider threw back his head and laughed.

"You'll do, son." He said. "T'lan is going to approve of you. And don't call me sir. It's R'cal."

"Yes, sir – R'cal. Why Southern?" and who, he thought, is T'lan? Wasn't T'bor Weyrleader at High Reaches?

Bendarek got a sample of wood from a drawer and handed it to Hallon. The young man felt it, turning it over again and again, feeling the grain.

"This is very hard and close grained." He said. "I've never felt anything like it. I'd say it would be very strong."

"It's called Ironwood." Bendarek told him. "It grows only in Southern. It's so heavy that it sinks; and we need to find out more about it."

"Would this be something to do with the new calculations that Masterminer Nicat has been doing?" asked Hallon, shrewdly. Bendarek and R'cal exchanged glances. R'cal spoke up.

"Yes indeed. T'lan worked with master Nicat, and now wants to extend the tables to wood. This ironwood could have the properties to make really good pit props – and who knows what else. Your duties in the weyr would, in addition to normal woodcrafting, include experimenting, bending and generally torturing pieces of wood to death while T'lan makes notes and measures things." He grinned. "I don't understand a word of it – I leave it to T'lan and my son." Hallon heard pride in his voice.

"I think it sounds fascinating." He said sincerely.

"Good. Then when you've got yourself the tools to collect samples, we'll press on to Southern – if Vargion here can give Camnath the co-ordinates properly."

oOoOo

Four hours later, Hallon's hands were stiff and numb, and he decided to have some lunch and a rest on the warm sands. He was about to break open a meat roll when he heard a noise in the sand behind a dune. Tunnel snakes? He unclasped his knife and moved forward. The scaled ones were good eating.

Nothing could have prepared Hallon for the sight before his eyes. A nest of tiny perfect eggs, cracking open as he watched!

"R'cal!" He hissed in a shouted whisper. The little creatures emerging were creeling in hunger, and seemed to smell the meat rolls he carried. A little bronze who seemed bolder than the others lifted his nose in the air, questing for the delicious smell. Hallon broke off a piece of meat roll and held it out to the tiny, glistening creature. In an instant the morsel was gone, and almost a piece of Hallon's finger. He almost heard the little thing demanding more, and quickly broke up the rest of his dinner. He seemed to be poking food in all directions at once as the little bronze was joined by three other firelizards – a brown, a blue, and a green. R'cal and Vargion had come to see what he had called for, and had rapidly joined him. When the flurry of hatching was over, Hallon had four sleepy firelizards attached to his shoulders and forearms, R'cal had three – a bronze, a blue and a green – and Vargion had two, a Brown and a green. The boy looked wide eyed with wonder; and Hallon knew he was wearing much the same expression at the knowledge of the love that these darling, beautiful little creatures felt for him. Vargion asked,

"Is – is this like Impression?"

"This is Impression, lad." Said R'cal; and Hallon noticed that the older man's voice was a little choked, too. "Only if you Impress a dragon, it's even more – because your dragon is a part of you. These silly creatures" he caressed the silly creatures lovingly "are only animals. Rather special animals." He amended. Hallon copied him in stroking the headknobs of his little pets and was rewarded by a humming of pleasure from the sleepy little creatures. The brown had established itself on his left shoulder and was gently chewing his earlobe as it dropped off to sleep; the bronze was on the other shoulder. The blue held painfully tight to one arm and the green was on the other.

"Well I can name three." Said Hallon. "The bronze is Sniffer; he found my lunch. This here horror" he stroked the brown "is Nibbler. The blue is Grasper" he winced, shifting claws "And what am I to call you?" He said to the little green.

"Peep?" She chirped. He laughed.

"Very well, Peep it is." He said.

oOoOo

R'cal scowled at his son and Talana as he walked into their weyr covered in firelizards, and the new weyrwoodcrafter the same. The scowl dared them to laugh at his being seduced by these silly creatures; and Talana found an extremely interesting piece of wall just behind him while she fought for control of her face.

"Looks like you found more than ironwood, R'cal." R'gar said overly gravely. R'cal gave his son a Look.

"Aye, and I'm calling this trouble here Rogue, for I'm sure he'll be in mischief." He said, stroking the bronze. R'gar looked startled.

"You used to call me that." He whispered.

"Seemed the more appropriate to transfer it – bronze rider." R'cal smiled at him. There was more going on here than Hallon could fathom. R'cal added, "The blue is Grog because he looks like someone we both know." –Talana choked with laughter, seeing what he meant about the pugnacious little creature's resemblance to Lord Groghe, even down to having rather protuberant eyes – "and this little green is Lessa, because she hasn't stopped scolding since I Impressed her." True to form the little creature chattered at him, and he scratched her back. She stopped swearing to shiver pleasurably at him. R'cal turned. "And this is your journeyman, with Sniffer, Nibbler, Grasper and Peep."

"Does the poor man have a name himself?" Asked Talana, twinkling at R'cal. The blue rider scratched his head. R'gar guffawed.

"Well father, you remembered the important names – the lizards!" He said.

"My name is Hallon" said Hallon, feeling that perhaps he ought to assert himself a little.

"How do you do, Hallon?" Asked Talana. "I expect you know of the proverbial idiosyncrasy of dragonriders that they never forget a dragon name and rarely remember a human one. Looks like that extends to firelizards!" She laughed. "I'm T'lana, also referred to as T'lan, and we'll be working together. I ride Mirrith and Laranth's rider here " she twinkled at her lover "Is R'gar, who also takes an interest in the properties of matter."

"YOU'RE T'lan?" He was taken aback.

"It's a long story; get someone to spin it for you some day. It sort of suits me." She grinned.

"Uh – pleased to meet you weyrwoman T'lan." He said. "You're uh, not what I expected."

"Lad" interposed R'gar "She's never what anyone expects. She's Very."

oOoOo

Hallon soon found himself settling in to the weyr, and enjoyed the work he was doing. He found Talana stimulating and intelligent if occasionally rather demanding and impatient. However she was at least as demanding of herself as of him; so he forgave her and pointed out his own limitations in a restrained manner. Talana at once apologised, and asked him to set the limits. Hallon could not remain cross with her for long!

His duties soon included making paper once Talana had ferreted out that he knew how; and she sent L'rilly to take sheets to Geriana and fly her to good landmarks to obtain a reference book for weyrlings – and for more mature riders to use for a quick guide. Meanwhile, the firelizards ate and slept and grew. Hallon and Vargion had a dozen volunteers to help feed the little creatures, not least among them Sagarra and Talana's cousins. He was shown how to oil itchy skin – Sagarra was getting quite bossy – and warned not to overstuff them. Talana insisted that he and Vargion train their Lizards from an early age as Menolly had, and Hallon found that the training came easily to them. He noticed that Talana pretended to despise the 'flutterbugs' as she called them, but usually sneaked them titbits if she thought he wasn't looking.

oOoOo

Talana attended the Conclave of the Lords Holder well wrapped and glad that it was set before Mirrith got snippy about flying. Some of the Lords were less than pleased to see a Weyrwoman; but the friendly greeting she received from Lords Oterel and Deckter and even the irascible Groghe quieted at least some objections. Lord warder Lytol was of course exquisitely courteous and Talana's heart went out to the man for his terrible loss. Groghe was actually quite genial and asked Talana if she would be attending his spring fair.

"My lord, I'd be delighted." She said "But it's going to depend on the timing; Mirrith's eggfull and I'm in an interesting condition myself." She blushed, then became even fierier red as Groghe congratulated her heartily.

The giving of evidence was quite straightforward, and Talana set out her findings succinctly. She had written out her calculations on one of Hallon's rougher, but serviceable, sheets of paper to demonstrate how debts would mount up if the interest at least was not paid off weekly. She had no illusions about intellect being a required prerequisite to hold; but she knew that Deckter would understand, and probably Oterel and Groghe would follow the gist; he was a shrewder man, she thought, than he often chose to appear. Lytol had been involved in the trade side of weaving; and she also saw Asgenar nodding. She took a liking to the cheerful open faced lord of Lemos; in the same way she took a dislike to the impenetrable stupidity of Lord Sangel of Boll and Nessel of Crom. However, it was quickly over, and she was dismissed to leave the lords to their deliberations. She caught Groghe's eye as she left and pulled a humorous face at him, sending thoughts of frustration via Merga. The choleric Lord actually smiled as she left.

oOoOo

Winter passed, and Mirrith took herself into the hatching ground to lay thirty three eggs, which she displayed smugly to her dear T'lan. She had not laid another gold egg, but all the eggs were well formed, and Talana praised her for being so clever. She was still half-asleep when Mirrith demanded her presence, for Tamalenth had risen, and R'gar and she had enjoyed the backwash. L'rilly had ended up with Sh'len and Talana hoped it would make her happy. Personally she found him a little immature; but if tastes didn't differ, all clutches would have the same sire. Hallon's fair of firelizards, now proving to be very useful in holding and fetching things, told him all about the eggs. His fair were among the few firelizards Mirrith tolerated; like Talana she found the ill disciplined creatures most people owned were annoying. Hallon's she permitted to help bathe her, and Vargion's too. Vargion was a happy lad, with a subtle sense of humour. He did not put himself forward, but was capable to be left to get on with things; and something of a friendship sprang up between him and Hallon, as they had both been newcomers at the same time, and shared a secret. He was just thirteen turns old, but having been sailing from an early age had a well-developed sense of responsibility. He introduced Hallon to many of the other candidates – the twin cousins of Talana he already knew – including two seaholder boys, brothers, Rossan and Corgall. Few of the other boys had firelizards, and Vargion found that jealousy caused him a lot of problems. The seaholder lads stood with him – whilst expressing envy – but Hallon was more a friend to him than most of the other candidates. Two weyrbred lads, Malon and Ranor also had firelizards; one and two respectively; but these half brothers stood apart from the others, keeping to themselves, although Ranor was always willing to wade in against bullies and Malon generally joined him. There were several girls amongst the candidates, one of whom had a blue firelizard. The daughter of the Holder of River Bend, she took a dim view of a commoner like Hallon owning four; and grumbled loudly. Hallon ignored her; he had noted that R'gar and T'lan treated all the weyrlings and candidates alike regardless of their rank; and as R'gar had roared at some of the boys for making a nuisance of themselves, and told them that the weyrwoodcrafter was useful and they were not, and that he cared not one jot who their fathers might be for even a son of F'lar of Benden was outranked by a journeyman, he assumed that her complaints would not be heeded. He was correct.

oOoOo

Talana was glad to be into the middle trimester of her pregnancy in time for Lord Groghe's spring Gather. She and Mirrith had been able to fly Thread once or twice since Mirrith had laid, and had been helping Sh'rilla with her first flights on Daenilth. Talana also wanted to clear with Master Domick permission for Tyrin to visit for Hatching, and ask Silvina if Camo could come too. Mirrith had taken a liking to the amiable simpleton, and wanted him there. Besides, Talana enjoyed fairs. It was the atmosphere more than anything else; and a Gather gave her a good opportunity to prowl around looking for candidates.

Lord Groghe saw Talana shortly after Merga had launched herself over to greet Mirrith with a noisy chirrup. The two queens exchanged news, seemingly oblivious to the incongruity of the appearance of their difference in size. Merga promptly perched on Mirrith's head knob, and sang enthusiastically to Groghe. Mirrith added a deep rumbling counterpoint; and Talana grinned, embarrassed at Groghe.

"It's the harpers." He explained. "Makes her sing; gets excited. Never heard a dragon sing before."

"Nor me, Lord Groghe. I didn't know she could. I can't." She added cheerfully.

"I can't either." He agreed. "Fancy leaving 'em to it?" He offered her his arm to escort her into the gather square, before being accosted by various holders.

"Business, what?" He said apologetically. "See you around, weyrwoman!"

Talana waved a hand as he was swamped in holders and moved into the crowds. She wished R'gar had accompanied her; she felt a little swamped and alone. However, she let her mind reach out, seeking possible candidates as she drifted towards the wine stores and refreshment booths.

It was the urgency of manner of the journeyman harper that caught her attention, though only her 'inner ear' picked it up, for he seemed perfectly nonchalant. He moved to a table where she recognised Master Domick sitting with a number of holders and traders. He passed some comment; but his fingers drummed on the table. Talana had used her 'inner ear' to gain translations of the messages passed by the great drums – it had passed the time while she was immured in the healer's halls – and had become quite adept at reading the messages.

"**Master alert death in field"** said the journeyman's fingers. Domick's fingers replied,

"**Accident query?"**

"Negative"

Talana 's nose twitched

She walked over.

"Why, master Domick, I was hoping to speak to you about my fosterling." She said, one hand tapping on the other as though from a nervous habit,

"**Dragonfolk aid query?"**

Domick almost choked on his wine.

"Ah yes, weyrwoman." He said. "Why don't we go and discuss it – if you gentlemen will excuse me, a harper never turns down the opportunity to speak with a beautiful woman." He bowed with a flourish; and Talana gave him a look. Out of earshot he became businesslike.

"How did you learn the measures?" He asked brusquely. She shrugged.

"When Master Oldive had me incarcerated, I had little better to do with my time. Certain messages brought certain reactions; I could extrapolate more." It was not wholly untrue. She had deduced some messages by actions if there was no one around to 'hear' it from; and some messages followed logical progressions. She had drawn up a Boolean chart to help find out the other missing parts for sections of the code, unaware that most harpers learned by rote and were unaware of a logic base. "It's only logic after all." She said.

Domick was one of the few who had discovered patterns in drum measures; patterns were his business. He was fascinated that a dragonrider should have seen them too; but there was business to conclude before he could enjoy a long talk with her.

"You might as well come along, weyrwoman." He said "And Tarney can explain more fully."

"Please – T'lana." She said. "I'm only a junior weyrwoman after all."

Tarney looked uncomfortable.

"Please Master – I'm not sure it's something a woman should see." He said. Talana lifted an eyebrow.

"I've seen a few messy deaths already." She said. "Thread's not a pretty way to die."

Tarney swallowed.

"It's a woman, see, uh, lady T'lana. She – well –" he swallowed.

"Another rape?" sighed Talana. "if it's him again, I'll have his wherewithal off this time."

The men looked at each other and shuddered. They believed her.

oOoOo

The body lay in a field that formed part of the picnic area, though it was as yet fairly deserted. A stage had been erected for a performance scheduled to take place later of Domick's famous tale of Lessa. Tarney and some apprentices had been checking out the viewing arrangements when one of the apprentices had almost fallen over the body. He had left the apprentices to keep people away and had gone to find his master.

Talana looked at the body. The expensively dressed woman lay on her back, her own gauzy scarf pulled tight around her neck, the ends underneath her. Talana could see a furrow in which the scarf sat, digging into the rather pouchy neck.

The dead woman's skirts were pulled up to her waist, and her undergarments had been pulled down to her mid thighs. Talana frowned in puzzlement and looked closer.

"I'm rather bothered by the bruising." She said to Domick. He peered closer.

"I see no bruising." He said.

"That is what bothers me."

Talana moved the woman's undergarment. There was no bruising or rubbing under it on the thighs; and there appeared to be no blood or fluid by her parts. Talana grunted again, and pulled the woman's skirt down. To be sure, she rolled up sleeves to check for bruising and turned down her bodice to examine shoulders, collarbone and breasts.

"No bruises." She said.

"Should there be?" Asked Tarney. She looked at him.

"Tarney, lad, I know where I get bruised during dragonlust – and that's a lot gentler than rape." She explained patiently. She examined the woman's long fingernails. Caught in one was a strand the same colour as the scarf.

"No skin – yet she'd surely have scratched at an attacker in front of her." She said. "The scarf must have been pulled tight from behind, because that's where the ends are – which is born out by the speech the fingernails make about how the poor woman scrabbled at her throat for air. Not I think for long – there's only one thread, and with nails like that I think she'd have caught more if she'd taken more than a few seconds to die." She looked puzzled. "But why disguise it as rape?"

Tarney was looking confused, but she was glad to see that Domick was with every step she made.

"Her colours and knots declare her to be the wife of Holder Fayn of Riverside." Domick declared. Talana had never heard of Riverside; but as a harper, his knowledge was bound to be encyclopaedic.

"He should really come here to identify her." She said. "I'll make the body more presentable for him, to lessen the shock. I don't think it can tell us anything more."

It did occur to Talana that Fayn himself might have killed his wife for one reason or another; and expecting to see it disarrayed, he might betray himself if she appeared more peaceful. Domick dispatched Tarney to find Holder Fayn, and Talana ministered to the body, noting as she did so that no stiffness of any kind had set in, and that therefore the woman had probably been dead less than four hours. As most people had only been arriving for three, this was not very helpful; but it seemed to her to be a good practice to adopt. She suspected from Master Domick's cynical expression as he gave instructions to Tarney that he shared her suspicions of the husband. T'lan had found that people had a habit in confiding in her; and one of the perennial worries amongst candidates and weyrlings was trouble between their parents.

"So" he turned to her suddenly "Was that your dragon singing away with Groghe's little creature earlier?"

"Yes, it was. Can't think where she got it from – I can't sing "

"You can't, eh? Well plenty can't that think they can."

She grinned at him.

"I claim no musical knowledge at all; that's why I find Tyrin so awesome. I can hold a melody whistling and I like listening to that twirly twisty stuff like The Lessa thing because it's got patterns in it but I'd not be able to explain it."

"Twirly twisty stuff?" His eyebrows rose.

"I'm sorry, but I told you I was totally ignorant about music. Complex would be I suppose a better word but it doesn't describe it so well. It always makes me think of a well flown pattern with dragons smoothly shifting from one position to another taking up the position of another to continually rest and change flights." She shrugged. "I just enjoyed listening to it while I was here, and music's supposed to be enjoyed, isn't it, even by the totally ignorant?"

He seemed pleased for some reason.

"Yes weyrwoman, music is supposed to be enjoyed." He said. "Ah, here comes the bereaved husband."

oOoOo

Holder Fayn was accompanied by a young woman, less well dressed than his wife, and a girl of about twelve turns.

"The journeyman said something has happened to my wife." He said, fussily. "I trust she isn't too upset?" He looked, Talana thought a trifle wary when he said that.

"Upset? Well that's a difficult question to answer." Domick said in his melodious voice.

"There's no way to soften this." Said Talana. "I'm afraid your wife is dead."

"Dead? Cassanda?" He blinked several times. "She can't be dead. She'd not permit such a thing. And who on Pern are you?"

"Allow Me, " said Domick "To introduce Weyrwoman, ah, T'lana of High Reaches."

"This is not weyr business!"

"On hearing that a noble woman had met with misfortune" said Talana tartly "It occurred to both Master Domick and myself that a ranking woman might be of assistance. As indeed I might yet be for the grieving female relatives."

He apologised, and put an arm around the little girl.

"My daughter, Faya" he said. The child held out her hand palm up in formal fashion, and Talana took it gravely. The girl looked shocked, but not grief stricken. The older girl on the other hand, looked very shaken. Talana turned to her, a querying look on her face.

"Sita" she murmured. "Second cousin of Fayn and companion–maid to Cassanda."

"May – may I see the – my wife?" Asked Fayn. Talana uncovered the face of the dead woman. He paled slightly. "How did it happen?"

"She was strangled." Said Talana "In a sudden rage."

Fayn looked upset; Sita nearly fainted. Faya shook her head, peering almost seeming perplexed.

"Poor mother" she said gravely. "May I go, please? This is rather horrid." Her father nodded and the child ran off.

"I believe there was a rape case on your land recently where a man raped and strangled a woman." Said Talana.

"Why – yes. How did you know? It was a renegade – we caught him, and he went to his death boasting of it." He shuddered.

"Was it your daughter who found the body?"

"Yes – yes it was. A great shock for such a young girl." He added sharply "What has this to do with my wife?"

Talana turned to Sita. "Your suspicions are I think correct. I thought at first it might have been you, but the child is entirely too controlled. You are going to have to get her to talk to you; when she realised what she had done, she tried to arrange the body as though it had been raped, to throw the blame on a renegade. The effect of finding that body has disturbed her deeply; as well as her harbouring a lot of anger towards her mother."

"What are you saying?" Cried Fayn. "Are you accusing my daughter?"

Sita was sobbing.

"She's so self contained, nothing Cassanda did caused her to blow up; but I know how upset and angry she was at the idea of marrying Lord Benis."

"What?" asked Fayn. "Benis? That little Snot?"

"Cassanda wanted an alliance with Lord Groghe" Sita explained. "Once Faya entered womanhood, she started making enquiries. She wanted to introduce Faya to Lord Groghe today that's why she took her off earlier when we first arrived. Faya was intending to plead with her about it."

"Why did I know nothing of this?" Fayn was horrified, a man drained. "Why did Faya not come to me?"

"She knows you never go against Cassanda because it makes life quieter." Accused Sita with quiet dignity. Fayn sank to the ground and buried his face in his hands. Talana led Sita to one side.

"You thought it was me?" Sita asked. Talana shrugged.

"When I saw you, you were distraught. I thought she probably bullied you; and you are plainly in love with Fayn." The girl blushed.

"Yes I am – and yes she did. What changed your mind?"

"She's too controlled; and she was puzzled by something about the body – because it was not as she had left it. You were also too upset – not making an issue of it as you might to cover guilt, but as though you knew or suspected something. I didn't think you'd be able to think of disarranging the body if you'd done it. I think you'd have just fled."

"Yes. I expect I should. I suspected Faya had done something because when she returned she was very quiet, and she turned down Bubbly pies – I know that sounds trivial "

"Not at all"

"And she'd been crying. Faya never cries."

"That's probably part of her problem. You evidently love her."

"As if she was my own"

"Then I'm sure you'll keep your family together and help her through it. Good luck to you." Talana gave her a little hug. "Now go to your man – and when he's over it, I'll dance at your wedding."

oOoOo

Obtaining permission for Tyrin to visit for the hatching was almost an anticlimax; but she was glad to run into the boy, and his delight at her presence made up for any unpleasantness. He was pleased to tell her about his studies, though she noticed he was more reticent about his companions.

"Are you having any problems?" She asked.

"Nothing I can't handle." He told her, stoutly. "The masters are pleased with my progress – I've a lot of catching up to do on the basics." He grimaced "But I'll do it and show 'em all!"

Tyrin wanted to introduce one or two boys to Talana, and she was glad at least that he had made a few friends. He dragged them off to meet Mirrith and Talana noticed a couple of larger boys watching in chagrin as the three little lads stood protected by the great bulk of the queen dragon.. Mirrith noticed too; and turned to regard the bullies with her faceted eyes, starting to whirl in irritation. She extended her head, and yawned. She had noticed that, surprising as it seemed, this had the effect of encouraging the unpleasant to leave. She was not disappointed on this occasion either. Tyrin was delighted; he knew he'd suffer later, but he had a memory of the humiliation of his enemies. He was sorry of course when Talana had to go; but Mirrith mustn't be worried over her eggs – and he'd be going to the hatching!

_Hallon – and many of his family – is autistic. When you get to know him better it will be a bit more obvious. It's a spectrum of disorders that has not been as well understood as it should be; Hallon is more towards the end of Aspergers. _

_Faya felt utterly trapped. She's not likely to be a danger to the general public; the fact that she disguised her mother's murder as being a rape-murder was partly a displacement activity to deal with the horror of finding that other body, and shock at what she had done wanting too to shift the blame in her own mind to some nameless renegade. She's one mixed up kid but a bit of decent parenting ought to set her on the right road. Groghe is the sort of conscientious Lord Holder who will keep a covert eye on her rather than indict a child. _


	7. Chapter 7

_KaraOhki, thanks for the message; I had intended to write a long reply if I had been able to; but may I say he sound brilliant! there will be a lot of developments over several books; and thanks so much for the lovely letter and encouragement. There are things that need highlighting. I hope you continue to enjoy!_

CHAPTER 7 The Missing Brooch, and a Hatching

Talana squirmed out from between the sleeping furs reluctantly as Brown rider T'chal's slightly nasal voice addressed R'gar.

"It's Breeneth, R'gar, I'd be pleased if you can take a look at his ear, he says it's giving him discomfort." She heard R'gar rumble a question, and the brown rider replied,

"Well he first mentioned it last night, but we were out of the weyr – I was, uh, busy, uh, with Bellova."

Talana snorted. The little brat who had complained about Hallon's firelizards was certainly making the most of her time in a weyr. She had complained that there was no Queen egg, and refused to consider trying for a green; but she was prepared to wait to see what Tamalenth laid!

R'gar had little time for the girl either. His snort was audible to Talana.

"Pour some warmed oil in to ease the pain and loosen any blockage." He told T'chal. "I'll be right down as soon as I've seen to Laranth."

Talana hustled through her ablutions and galloped out. She'd never helped with ear blockages before and looked forward to learning more. She went through Laranth's weyr, pausing to kiss her beloved, on the morning quest for Klah. She was to be foiled in her search; for coming up the passage boiling with indignation, was Bellova.

"Weyrwoman! I want that insolent journeyman disciplined and his thieving lizards put down!" She screeched.

Talana stared at her.

"Assuming for one moment that there is any validity in your complaint" she chose the words carefully "Your second suggestion is so ridiculous that it would be laughable were it not so outrageous. Now rather than screeching like a fishwife on the stairway, I suggest you repair to the teaching hall whence I shall summon Hallon, and this matter can be discussed like civilised human beings."

Bellova subsided a little before the young Weyrwoman's censure and went muttering to the teaching hall. Talana thought direct to Sniffer, who could be trusted to pass good visualisations; and followed her.

oOoOo

Hallon was furious. That girl had come to his quarters that morning and accused him of theft, aided and abetted by his firelizards. She had promised to go to someone in authority and have him stripped of his rank and thrown from the weyr; worse, she threatened to get them to kill his firelizards. It had been all he could do not to slap her. Now Sniffer brought a visualisation of the weyrling teaching room and the impression of a summons from T'lana. He was so far from his crafthall – could this bitch actually carry out her threats? He hurried across the bowl in some trepidation, determined to protect his pets, no matter what.

oOoOo

Bellova shook her cloak at Talana.

"I had it right here last night! I always wear that brooch with this cloak – and this morning it was gone! We know that Hallon's a thief."

"Indeed?" Hallon entered as Talana uttered the single, icy word.

"He must be! How else would a low born journeyman have acquired four firelizards when I, the daughter of a Ranking Holder have only one?"

This of course was, Talana knew, the real reason for her complaint; though whether the girl would have the patience to properly care for any more was dubious! Talana said,

"Hallon was on a beach performing duties for the weyr when a wild nest hatched. R'gar's father was with him. Bearing false witness is seriously frowned upon here, Bellova and I advise you to remember that wild unfounded rumours are too. Have you any solid grounds to suggest that Hallon may have stolen from you?"

"My brooch is gone, isn't it?" The girl scowled. "And he's so insolent to me, I bet he'd do it out of spite, not just because it's extremely valuable. And his firelizards are always fetching and carrying for him, he sent them in to get it."

"That's not true!" Burst out Hallon. "If any firelizard took your beastly bauble, I bet it was yours – it's probably in your quarters somewhere. I don't want your brooch!"

Bellova retorted,

"Don't want it? Don't give me that. Apart from the value, you could give it to your current lover – whichever greasy little drudge that is."

Talana bellowed,

"That is ENOUGH! Bellova, your accusations have no apparent foundation. Give me that cloak." She snatched it from the girl and looked at the tear near the neck. "Your precious brooch has torn off – probably while T'chal was divesting you of your clothing last night." Bellova opened her mouth in surprise.

"How do you know about that?" she asked indignantly.

"That's for me to know and you to wonder." Said Talana shortly. Suddenly her eyes widened and she began to chuckle. Hallon regarded her with deep concern, Bellova with disgust. Talana wiped her eyes. "And I know where your brooch is." She said. "That must have been some ripping off of clothes you went in for!" And she turned and left the room, beckoning to them imperiously.

Breeneth was in the yard, complaining softly. R'gar was about to reach into his ear, a hand full of glows to assist him.

"May I?" asked Talana. He looked at her; then nodded. Talana dived into the unhappy Brown dragon's ear, and emerged with a wax covered object, which she wiped with a cloth.

"Would THIS be your brooch, Bellova?" She asked, sweetly. Bellova gasped, then snatched it angrily, her face burning. She held it with some repugnance at the dragon ear wax smeared on it.

"You!" She hissed at T'chal.

"What did I do? It wasn't my fault!" he said, injured.

"T'chal – my office." Said T'bor, who had been watching. T'chal swallowed, nervously. T'bor added, "May this be a lesson to you, Bellova; I'm sure weyrwoman T'lan will have something to say to you."

T'lan had several things to say to her; and when the girl had fled, sobbing, she snorted.

"And I still haven't had my morning Klah!" She said plaintively.

oOoOo

Hallon got Talana some klah; and thanked her. She snorted.

"Can't abide those that give themselves airs just because of their birth. At least the Lords and the Holders themselves work – even if some of them can only remember their own names because people address them by them all day long." She added, "We respect journeymen in the weyr, you'll see no false ranking at High Reaches at least."

Hallon was interested to see Talana's logical deduction at work; he'd heard about it and rather diffidently asked her about solving mysteries with logic. She had changed names to explain to him where confidences were involved but he was pleased to find himself able to follow the logic through, and sometimes reach the answer before she revealed it. The Mathematical aspect appealed to him as well and he was glad to study with a few other interested souls Talana's mathematics book. Talana saw in him a kindred spirit with a love of order and pattern, which she fostered. Bellova of course started the rumour that Hallon was the junior Weyrwoman's lover; a suggestion which amused Talana more than irritating her as a ridiculous idea. As though such a thing would matter in a Weyr anyway! R'gar made sure to be seen with Hallon in public – not difficult since he entered fully into T'lan's projects – for he liked the young man and did not wish him to feel that any credence was placed on the silly girl's spite, for Hallon was inclined to be a little prudish about relationships. It backfired on Bellova, for she whined to L'gani, the Weyrsecond. L'gani liked Hallon, and as an amateur woodworker himself had soon introduced himself. Hallon had been glad of his aid, and had taught him a lot in return, and the two were soon firm friends. L'gani, moreover remembered how L'rilly had tried to smear R'gar, and was not about to encourage that sort of thing again. Thus, Bellova had the undignified experience of having her mouth washed out with sweetsand; for his best friend could not accuse L'gani of subtlety.

oOoOo

Talana meanwhile could have wished that she had not acquired the reputation as someone to tell troubles to. Both L'rilly and Sh'len cried on her shoulder over each other. As she suspected, neither was mature enough for a serious relationship, and the mutual immaturity caused problems. Talana got L'rilly involved in her wood working projects, a trifle reluctantly, and made sure she worked with L'gani a lot. L'gani gave Talana an old fashioned look; but he was pleasantly surprised by the changes in L'rilly after the maturing experience she had undergone. He had a strong suspicion that Talana considered it his duty to look after the girl as he was presently unattached; and decided to let matters take their course without prejudice. Sh'len was in some ways harder; but Talana felt that his heart was resilient enough to find a solution, or at least solace of a temporary nature.

oOoOo

The large number of sea-bred candidates led to Hallon being wheedled into building a skiff for ventures onto the lake. Vargion explained solemnly to R'gar that the weeds were clogging it up and needed clearing for the dragons to bathe; and R'gar, lips twitching thanked him equally solemnly and made sure the boys cleared the weeds. Rossan and Corgall thoughtfully stuffed Vargion's tunic with the slimy weeds as soon as R'gar's back was turned.

"They seem so very young." One of the candidates spoke to Hallon as he watched, grinning. Hallon knew him slightly, a harper journeyman named Lugal.

"If they Impress, they'll grow up soon enough. And they've the sense of responsibility too – they've learned to respect the sea." Hallon said. This young man was about his own age and was newly arrived; Hallon was surprised that a journeyman would wish to attempt Impression if he was doing well at his own profession. Certainly Lugal seemed very competent at singing and playing to entertain the weyrfolk; and he had enough medical knowledge to make himself useful to both Calla and R'gar when Threadfall brought casualties. He also joined in the mathematics classes, and let drop the information that master Robinton was considering setting up some kind of information exchange symposium with progressive peoples from craft, hold and weyr. Hallon had been fascinated; and Talana had disappeared for several hours. She told him later that she had been to see master Fandarel about the matter; and the enthusiastic smith had introduced her to the Master Starsmith, Wansor.

"He's utterly brilliant" she told Hallon. "Worked out a lot of what I had to read about. I had to time it coming back so the Horrors didn't miss their feed – they still need the milk bar last thing at night." Hallon blushed and she grinned at him. "You get used to being open" she said, "I have."

oOoOo

R'gar got a more detailed account of Talana's talk with Wansor and listened with deep interest as she explained many of his theories.

"I was at Fort when he set up the distance viewer" he told her "And it was truly awesome to see the Red Star through it." He shuddered. "I also remember how excited he got when he found the other planets."

"I promised I'd run some calculations for him." Talana told R'gar. "Both to back up his own and to add to his work. We live in exciting times!"

oOoOo

The most exciting thing about the times for most people was hatching. When T'lana felt that it was close, R'gar went to fetch Tyrin and Camo and then Talana's aunt and uncle; and the tiers started to fill with interested spectators. Talana was delighted to see the wondering joy on Camo's face as he stared around; and she grabbed Hallon by the sleeve as he stood, wondering whether he was allowed to go into the hatching cavern or not.

"Hallon! Just the person I wanted! Could you look after Camo and take him to a good seat? He's a guest of Mirrith's." She pushed Camo towards Hallon. "Go with Hallon, Camo. I have to be with Mirrith. Hallon has four pretties."

"Four pretties?" The simple man's face if anything glowed more. "Camo likes pretties."

Hallon had never encountered anyone simple minded before; but T'lana seemed to treat him a bit like a child, so Hallon felt he could manage that.

"Come on then, Camo." He said. "Let's get a good place to watch like the weyrwoman says."

"Camo watch. Camo never seen hatching. Weyrwoman very good to Camo. Big pretty kind too." He waved happily to Mirrith who accorded him an inclination of the head – to the consternation of some of the watchers.

"That's the Harper hall dummy!" Hallon heard one shocked voice say. "What's he doing here?" There was a discontented whine to the voice.

Hallon turned to the guest who had spoken.

"He was invited, same as you; only he was invited by a dragon. They have good reasons for what they do."

"Well really!"

Hallon turned deliberately away from the incensed holder, and spoke to Camo.

"It's my first Impression too. I'm really excited." His firelizards chirped happily, and Camo stroked them gently with one of his enormous fingers. Suddenly they started a descant hum, which was echoed in base in the immense throats of the dragons. White clad candidates came forward onto the sands, girls and boys – the latter by far in the majority – all hoping that a dragonet awaited them.

oOoOo

The first shell to crack was a Bronze – a good omen! He made without hesitation for Vargion, whose whole face lit up in a soppy grin as he yodelled at the top of lungs trained to outshout a howling gale. The yodel was echoed by the strong seacrafter contingent in the audience and several landsmen holders held their ears. Eggs started hatching fast, and Hallon found he could hardly keep up with seeing who was Impressing, though both of the other sea-bred lads seemed to have dragonets, and the weyrbred half brothers, though only one of these four was a Bronze. Camo was on the edge of his seat in excitement, just like a child, thought Hallon before realising he was almost in the same position himself. One of the dragonets was butting aside candidates, his mouth wide and creeling for love that he had not yet found. Camo jumped up as the little creature fell, and Hallon found himself on his feet too.

"Help pretty?" Asked Camo, tugging at Hallon's sleeve. Hallon nodded, and involuntarily found his feet taking him down the tiers. He knelt beside Melth and helped him to his clumsy dragonet feet.

"_I do love you"_ Melth told him "_And I'm hungry"_

What had happened had just dawned on Hallon.

"But – I'm not supposed to Impress!" He said out loud. The dragonet eyes whirled orange in worry and concern.

"_Don't you love me?"_

Hallon threw his arms around the little creature's glistening neck.

"Of course I love you" he said softly. "I'll always love you. I just wasn't expecting this!"

Melth nuzzled at him; and nothing else mattered except the hunger the little dragon felt. Hallon started to lead him to the cavern entrance towards the others. R'gar grinned at him.

"Well done H'llon – just don't let him overeat, Bronze rider."

It was only at that moment that it occurred to H'llon that he had not just Impressed a dragon – he had Impressed a Bronze dragon! Until then he had only been thinking of how beautiful Melth was, how wonderful. But a Bronze dragon? What would Master Bendarek say?

oOoOo

Lugal – L'gal – also had a Bronze dragonet and wore an equally bemused look.

"I don't know what Master Domick's going to say about Solpeth" he said. "I wasn't supposed to Impress.

H'llon stared at him.

"But you were a candidate!" He said.

"Only because Domick set him to check up on me." T'lana's crisp voice came behind them. "Am I right, L'gal?"

The young man grinned shamefacedly.

"He thought it worth while." He said.

"Well I shall have to have a long chat with him." Said Talana. "Cheer up, H'llon! When he's grown up, you'll be able to go off together to get wood instead of having to ask for lifts!"

"You mean I won't lose my position?"

"Shards, no! It's great, because now I know you can't take it into your head to go off and abandon us. Of course" she grinned "We'll have to put up with broken woodwork until he's finished being a walking tummy and you've time to call your own!"

oOoOo

T'lana was well satisfied with the hatching. She'd suspected that H'llon would Impress – large numbers of firelizards seemed to be an indication – and she was delighted that all her cousins had Impressed too. Z'linda had a Green and Z'nil and L'zayn had respectively a Brown and a Blue. The young widow from High Reaches Hold had also Impressed a Green, and T'lana was wondering whether the contraction A'ira worked. She had hugged the stunned girl: and reassured her that all the women in the weyr would rally round to help with her young children while the dragonet demanded all her attention. She added that she, T'lana, would see that she got help so that she would not have to foster out if she didn't want to.

Pilgra was delighted. Her tactics of a larger lower layer taking account of the strengths and weaknesses of Green dragons would have a chance to be tried and tested, and if necessary modified.

oOoOo

H'llon beckoned Camo over as the big man emerged, looking slightly lost; and T'lana left him to it. H'llon grinned.

"I wasn't expecting this" he indicated Melth. "Will you help me feed him?"

Camo's face shone.

"Camo help feed baby dragon-pretty! I tell Silvina!" Happily he helped to feed the ravenous dragonet, stroking the soft glistening bronze skin. "H'llon." He said.

"Yes?"

"Your name now. Not Hallon." He was pleased with himself. H'llon grinned and nodded. As Melth came close to capacity, R'gar stepped over to warn H'llon again about overfeeding.

"You'll have to catch up on some theory" he said "But basically it's like your wretched flutterbugs only bigger. And they'll help you with the bathing too as he grows." H'llon's Firelizards cheeped and hummed happily, perching on portions of Melth and chatting away as proudly as though they had Impressed a Bronze dragon!

T'lan watched Camo helping.

"That man belongs in a weyr" she told R'gar. "The dragons love him for his simplicity; and he so enjoys helping feed 'pretties'. Only I've a feeling Silvina is his mother – just a gut reaction really. She might not be too happy for him to come away from her."

"Why not have a chat about it next time you're down there?" suggested R'gar. "Just generally, about how well he fitted in, and how much the dragons like him. Then she can suggest it if she thinks it a good idea."

"You really are wise, dearest." She murmured, dropping her head against his arm. "I love you so much, you know."

He put an arm around her; and the weyrlings were astonished to see 'Old Grumpy' kissing his weyrmate passionately in public and not looking grumpy in the least.

_You're going to see a lot more of H'llon; and his relatives._


	8. Chapter 8

_WARNING!__ Notice that rape occurs in this chapter and there are some unhappy weyrewomen_

CHAPTER 8 The Picnic that Went Wrong

Lindan and Zaylana were amazed and delighted that their three children had Impressed; and Lord Deckter also came to offer congratulations and greet Talana. Lindan had other news for Talana too;

"Lord Deckter has made me ranking holder in Larnel's hall, to keep or assign the lands I already hold too." He told her. Talana congratulated him; she had a shrewd idea that this was a smart move on the part of Deckter to promote a weyrwoman's family and thus ensure himself more weyr support. She confirmed this by catching his eye with a small lift of one eyebrow. He grinned unrepentantly and gave a half shrug.

"Of course, it will need to be ratified by the Conclave" he said, "But I understand that there is almost never any overturn of an internal decision on these matters."

"Do you know what you've done to me?" Asked Talana, mock seriously. He shook his head. "You've made me the niece of a man of Rank – and me thinking that those who Rank because of blood not ability are a possible waste of space!"

Deckter roared with laughter.

"Then truly I have my revenge on the dragonmen who did the same thing to me, and me with the same opinion!" He declared. "I believe people should be ratified to rank only if they are capable. It's something I shall be discussing in Conclave."

"The other lords are just going to love you!" T'lana grinned.

oOoOo

Talana had had a bad week with the children by the end of the first week. Sagarra had not been intentionally any trouble – and had intended being helpful to the new weyrlings; but her half brother Marag had been very difficult. Sagarra had been taking more notice of him since he'd been old enough to be interesting, but had abandoned him for the superior charms of Baby dragons. Talana had spoken to her about it, but there was a certain tension between the siblings that had been trying; and had affected the twins. Rogan had in any case thrown out a teething rash and both started to wake up during the night after having been sleeping through. Rofel generally woke first and started chatting to his toes; then Rogan started grizzling and took two or three hours to get back to sleep. Once the dragonets were past the first hectic week, Marag could be allowed to start trotting around on errands, supervised by Sagarra and peace was somewhat restored. Rofel returned to sleeping through; and Rogan only woke if he was in pain. Nonetheless, when L'rilly suggested combining an errand trip for the weyr with a girls' afternoon T'lana jumped at it – as soon as she had ascertained that Lanelly did not mind.

"There are traders at High Reaches Hold" L'rilly told her, "And Keerana, Calla and Pilgra all need supplies that are too boring for any but junior weyrwomen to fetch." She giggled. "I thought we could gather up Sh'rilla, Y'lara, Z'linda and A'ira and have a picnic and gossip. It's a nice flight Straight for you – and I want to pull all the available men to pieces!"

Talana laughed. L'rilly was beginning a tentative friendship with L'gani and also with H'llon, with whom she could start a friendship with no preconceived ideas; she was making the effort to make men friends rather than her previous desperate hunt for a surrogate affection.

Sh'rilla declined the trip, on grounds that she'd 'promised to do something for T'kil' – blushing furiously. T'lana winked outrageously and declared that they QUITE understood; and Sh'rilla pelted her with cushions, burning red.

Z'linda and Y'lara leaped at the chance of an excursion; but A'ira dithered. The young widow was uncomfortable still at her elevated position, and was nervous of the gold riders; T'lana had set her cousin to befriend A'ira, as her clutch mate, and help her to adjust. T'lana felt sure that the strength of the girl would aid her in settling down to being a dragonrider, but it was all very overwhelming for her still.

"I hope you don't think I'm ungrateful, weyrwoman" she told T'lana "But – well, I'd feel an outsider."

T'lana hugged her.

"I don't want you to feel pressured – just know that we'll all be around when you feel more at home with us. Take as long as you need to adjust. Joroth will always be with you."

The young Green rider's eyes lit up in joy and love; and she nodded.

oOoOo

The girls enjoyed dickering with the traders for the necessary items they had been sent to obtain, and parcelled up the cloth and canvases, spices and exotic medicine herbs from more southerly climes, and the richer southerly powdered klah bark. Several Brown riders were happy to collect some of the sacks of goods, providing they did not have to dicker! They left the girls to have an hour or two picnicking by the river; and they carried down a hamper while their dragons dozed happily in the sun on the top of the cliffs. Laughing they chatted freely, revelling in a brief holiday.

It was briefer than any of them could have anticipated.

oOoOo

The six men leapt from the bushes with their crossbows pointing at the four girls; and T'lana knew where the disturbing hiss on her 'inner ear' had been coming from; and cursed herself that she had merely assumed that it was from the Hold barely a mile away. She reached out to her friends, warning,

"_**Don't call the dragons! Those things could hurt them – and they could fire them before a dragon could stop them."**_

"Well, well, some nice little rich girlies – someone's bound to want you back alive – and intact." The apparent leader was an ill dressed, rough fellow with cold eyes.

"_**They think we're Holder spawn. Let's not disabuse them of that idea. If they think we're riders they'll probably kill us out of hand."**_ Aloud Talana said,

"You are not being sensible. Leave and we'll not make an issue of it. This is not a good idea."`

"Shut up and get moving. You're coming with us." He motioned with his crossbow. L'rilly and Z'linda each took T'lana's hand seeking for support, and she squeezed their hands reassuringly. Y'lara scowled; and T'lana sent to her,

"_**Don't, dear one, these are desperate men! They are jumpy and scared – and that makes them as dangerous as cornered tunnel snakes!"**_

Talana was frightened; but though it might have been prudent to act cowed to the renegades, she dared not let her friends see; so she swept with dignity in the direction indicated. The men manhandled them along, wary and vigilant, not letting go of the crossbows for an instant, pushing them into the forest of softwood timbers. One of them hit Y'lara, at the back, between the shoulder blades with a blow that made her stumble; the leader said,

"Careful, Zack! If she's injured we might get a lower price!"

"We need 'em outa sight quick, right Biirt?" the rough one replied. "Only hurryin' them like."

Biirt grunted, and stood to one side to motion everyone past, covering the girls as they were pushed into a cave. Z'linda was almost sobbing and T'lana could feel L'rilly trembling.

"Look, we'll not be unreasonable" she said "You don't have to be rough."

The one called Zack backhanded her across the face, and she fell.

"We don't need no lip – nor no leader neither." He growled.

"Be careful – she's pregnant!" cried L'rilly.

Birrt grinned.

"Pregnant, eh?" he said. "Then we can ask for a finder's reward from hubby as well as daddy – or promise to deliver baby – prematurely – as you might say." His pale eyes gleamed. "So we need to know just who you lovelies all are. You first." He said to L'rilly, chucking her under the chin with filthy fingers. She tossed her head.

"I am Lirilly; and my grandfather is Lord Groghe. He will not be happy with you." She said. Biirt laughed and turned to Talana.

"Talana, niece of Holder Lindan from Nabol. His daughter there is my cousin Zaylinda." She edged towards her terrified cousin who nodded confirmation. Biirt turned to Y'lara.

"My name is Yolara, I have no official ranking." She said scornfully.

"Shall I kill her, Biirt?" asked one of the other men. "We don't need to trouble with rankless."

"We c'd have some fun first" added Zack. Y'lara paled, and Talana steeled herself for a desperate, hopeless action. Biirt shook his head.

"Idiots, look at her clothes! She may not rank, but someone'll pay to have her back! What's she doin' with this lot if she ain't got something – and wa's she mean no OFFICIAL rank?" he turned to her as she said this. Yolara quailed.

"Idiot!" snapped Lirilly. "You ought to realise that my grandfather has plenty of vigour with the number of sons he's spawned! Please – kill the slut, and I won't have to be nice to her anymore to keep my position!"

"_**NICE one L'rilly!"**_ said T'lana as the leader looked thoughtful.

"Very well, tie them up." He said; and stout ropes were produced. Z'linda hugged T'lana and Zack pulled her away roughly.

"Hey, no need for that!" said T'lana. "It's all right dear one, it'll be all right!"

"Zack" said Biirt "Teach that one not to be a mouth. DON'T make her lose the brat, it's of value to us – but she ain't gonna lose value if you get me."

Zack chuckled, and flung T'lana onto the floor. Desperately she concentrated her mind on _between_, nothing but _between_ as the ghastly stench of his rotten teeth and raw bulb root came closer. He was careful not to damage her too much – perhaps he was greedy, perhaps he feared Biirt's wrath – but T'lana had never known such pain or degradation. Her whole being concentrated on not feeling, not knowing, keeping Mirrith out as much as possible, but she knew the little Queen was crazy with fear and concern over the wash of pain deliberately inflicted. At last it was over, and as Zack trussed her up she sent reassurance as best she could.

"_**It's all right darling I'm alive and I'm not badly injured. Go to Laranth, bring them to the Hold and be ready. Tell R'gar I love him!"**_

"_I will be back soon. I want to stop the bad man. I want to help you T'lan, how can I help you?" _she was distressed, and T'lana swallowed her own pain and fear to soothe her and tell her she could help by waiting. Talana had noticed that most of the men had left the cave now that they were tied, and had left only one to guard them. She heard their voices, rejoicing that the girls had had no firelizards and were easy pickings, while they decided on what messages to send. The beginnings of an idea was forming.

Talana wriggled to lay her head in Z'linda's lap, after taking a good look at the area of cave immediately behind her. The guard said

"Watch it" and brandished the crossbow. Lirilly opened her mouth to retort; but thought better of it. She whispered to T'lana

"What are we going to do?"

"Lean against me – I want you close." T'lana whispered just loud enough for the guard to hear. It did not require much acting to make it sound close to a sob. L'rilly and Y'lara wriggled closer. Talana shut her eyes and reached out for the intelligent little mind of Merga. Carefully she formulated the visualisation, and emphasised the need for absolute silence. The sudden warmth of Merga's soft skin as she butted against T'lana's bound hands filled her with hope.

The guard said,

"Alright, that's enough – move apart." The girls moved obediently; but L'rilly managed to keep partially in front of T'lana, hiding any part of the tiny perfect queen that might show. The guard relaxed somewhat. These girls could never jump him, trussed up like wherries, and they had no way now of undoing each other.

Carefully Talana sent instructions to Merga to bite through her ropes. She could hear the little creature's concerned thoughts and reassured her, reiterating the necessity to get her free. Merga obliged, occasionally sinking her sharp teeth into Talana's wrists in her enthusiasm but the girl showed no sign on her face. At last she felt the last rope free and felt the query from Merga. She scratched the lizard's poll cautiously, and asked her to return to Groghe with Talana's apologies. Merga flicked between; and Talana contacted Mirrith, Tamalenth and Laranth.

"_**When I say 'now' this is the visualisation."**_ She showed them the outside of the cave, trying to imagine it from above. Then she let out a bloodcurdling cry.

"Shurrup" said the guard.

"The baby" she groaned. "The baby is coming. Help me someone!"

The guard came over, doubtfully, and she writhed, moaning. He bent over her; and his belt-knife was in her hand. There was no time for finesse, as she called the dragons in and thrust upward with all her strength. He let out a sighing groan and fell on her. Talana collapsed beneath his weight, half-swooning.

oOoOo

Talana returned to her senses in R'gar's arms with the girls looking on and clinging together in support.

"O-oh, wasn't it a good job Sh'rilla didn't come!" She cried. R'gar shushed her, and stroked her hair. She buried her face in him. "Mirrith – I must see Mirrith!" She said; and he carried her outside.

Three of the bandits lay trussed up; two were dead. There were several Bronze dragons decorating the landscape besides Laranth and the two Greens, and Vorth as well. M'kel and L'gani were on their way inside. M'kel was bloodspattered and looked grimly satisfied. Lord Bargen stood tutting to himself. He asked R'gar

"The little weyrwoman – is she all right?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet." Said R'gar, grimly, "But she's with us enough to want to be with her dragon."

Mirrith bent her head down to T'lana and made comforting huffing noises. Talana wriggled from R'gar to wrap her arms around her green-gold neck.

"I'm so sorry I worried you darling" she said "But they'd have killed us and maybe you and Tamalenth too if you'd come sooner, and I'd put up with anything before I'd risk you." Mirrith's eyes stopped whirling quite as fast and the angry red was fading from them. R'gar supported T'lana so she could stand leaning on Mirrith, as L'rilly emerged from the cave with L'gani's support to go to Tamalenth. M'kel was seeing Y'lara to Vorth and for some reason young H'llon was left helping Z'linda.

"H'llon?" asked T'lana, puzzled.

"L'gani grabbed him up as we left." R'gar explained. "Apparently he's handy in a fight; and L'gani likes him." Talana nodded. She saw H'llon hand her cousin up to T'kil, and climb up himself on invitation.

oOoOo

The flurry of wings indicated the arrival from _Between_of another dragon, and a Blue not of High Reaches came in to land. Merga flew chittering and crooning to Talana and wrapped herself round the young Queenrider's neck. Talana rubbed her head and stroked her back until she was shivering in pleasure, telling her what a clever little darling she was; and she turned to the Blue dragon to give a smug little 'chirp'.

"Ha! Looks like I arrived too late, what?"

Lord Groghe's voice boomed out.

"Lord Groghe?" R'gar sounded puzzled.

"You can blame Merga if I'm superfluous, Bronze rider." The Lord Holder said. "She insisted that I should come – told Kirrith here too – so here I am. A wild tale about someone hurting young T'lana what?"

"Not wild" said R'gar grimly, turning so that Groghe saw Talana's somewhat battered state..

"Damn cheek of these people! Really sorry! Anything I can do –what?" He spluttered, enraged..

"Quite so, Groghe." Said Bargen. "About time we discussed policy if these thugs cross borders. Let's you and me call on Deckter and Oterel and have a little chat about it."

"Good idea! Good idea! If even weyrfolk aren't safe!" Groghe hrummph'd and tutted as R'gar wrapped T'lana up and installed her on Laranth.

"Don't forget to fly straight" she whispered.

"Be damned if I will" growled R'gar. "It's overdoing it at this time does the damage – and I want you safe back home. I'll not risk you for the baby. Besides" he added "If it's survived all that, it's probably too stubborn to die. Bound to be a daughter."

Talana decided not to argue. She felt too bad.

oOoOo

Back at the weyr, R'gar bathed her and dressed the abrasions and bites, and put her to bed. He stood dithering.

"Stay with me" she whispered; and he sat with her and held her. "I feel very numb" she told him. "As though I'm not attached to me. R'gar, I don't think I'm going to be able to make love for a long time."

He kissed the top of her head.

"It's all right." He told her. "We'll be together. I love you my dearest one; nothing can ever stop that. You are my Talana whatever happens. I will always be here for you; I will do everything I can to help you." He held her, stroking her; and at last she began to cry, dry choking sobs. R'gar rocked her like a child; and she cried until she fell exhausted to sleep.

oOoOo

Talana went around half dazed for several days, not skimping on her duties – which she insisted on resuming, to give herself something to think about – but not totally in touch with her surroundings. R'gar worried about her; but Lanelly told him that she would need time to adjust; and that the most important thing was for him to continue to demonstrate his love because the girl would be suffering from a loss of self worth. Lanelly explained that Talana would be afraid of losing his love and esteem. R'gar was careful to show his love to Talana, and she appreciated it. She wished she could show him in return; but was unable to respond. At last she decided to take matters in hand; and tuned in on a young Green who was suspiciously irritable.

oOoOo

The flight enabled T'lana to break through the barrier with R'gar; and afterwards she cried a little, and laughed a little, and clung to him, kissing him thankfully.

"Anyway" she said "Some good has come of it." R'gar gave her an astonished look.

"What?" he asked.

"Now I can help girls better when they've been raped – or flown by someone that upsets them." She said seriously. R'gar stared at her, hardly able to believe his ears. He gave up, and kissed her. She snuggled at him, knowing that it would be all right, even if it took a while.

"_And I am here"_ said Mirrith comfortingly; and Talana murmured contentedly into her love's chest.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 Lust at First Sight and Some Gee-gee Fixing

T'lana was surprised and moved to find that a lot of people, even those she did not know well came up to her, often not knowing what to say, but slapping her on the back or embracing her. It helped her no end to restore the self-esteem that had been so badly scarred to know that so many people cared. She knew that it was partly because all riders and their dragons had a deep attachment to all the queens in the Weyr, but it was not only riders who came to her, and she knew from her 'inner ear' that the feelings ran deeper than that. It was a gratifying and unexpected development; and Talana felt loved on all sides.

L'rilly approached her white faced.

"Are you very angry with me?" She blurted out.

"Angry? With you? Why should I be?" Asked T'lana astonished.

"I told them you were pregnant – if I hadn't they might not have…." She tailed off.

"Shards and shells, what wherry teeth you talk, girl!" Said T'lana, hugging her friend. "For one thing you did it with the intention of helping; and for another since I was only niece and they had daughter, they might have decided I was expendable without the added bonus of a husband; and they might have been less careful over baby if they didn't know she existed." Her tone was matter of fact; L'rilly needed to be kept firmly out of hysteria. She added, "I thought you did really well, not showing how frightened you were – as we all were."

L'rilly hugged her and cried, and Talana soothed her and wished the girl were not quite so given to excesses of emotion, especially in the middle of the bowl. However, L'rilly soon calmed down and the girls went off arm in arm to help Pilgra.

oOoOo

Talana was still trying to throw Lanelly and R'cal together when he visited – a fact that passed him by and amused Lanelly – but fate intervened to spoil her plans.

R'cal had been wondering what would be for nooning food back at Tillek Hold when he saw the young woman. What had been a rather vapid prettiness when T'lana had first seen Atira the widow had blossomed as good food and a lack of worries had given colour to the girl's naturally pale face; and the lank brownish hair now flowed in a rich chestnut cloud about her oval face. She had just finished feeding her youngest child, leaning against a sleeping Joroth in the sun, and the little boy played with a ball nearby. The children too had become contented with plenty to eat, and easier to look after. A'ira was chatting to Camnath as he half dozed near Joroth, not expecting a reply, but for the company. She stood up as R'cal approached and smiled shyly.

"Good day to you, Blue Rider" she said politely. R'cal made reply and added,

"You Impressed the little Green there?"

"Yes, she is Joroth. I never really expected it even though Weyrwoman T'lana was so sure." She said, the joy of remembered Impression washing her face with a serene beauty.

"Hmph. Managing girl, T'lan." Said R'gar. "Do you have trouble with your mate over Impressing?" He waved a hand at the children.

"My husband is dead." She said flatly.

"Sorry." He grunted, embarrassed.

"He was a good man and a good provider until he would have that fardling porcine." She sighed. "I sometimes feel guilty because I wouldn't be here if he hadn't killed himself over the debt – and I've never been happier."

"No point being guilty over being happy." He said. "You weren't happy before?" she had, he noticed described him as a good provider rather than in more personal terms.

"I wasn't unhappy, Blue Rider." She hastened to explain. "But until I Impressed I didn't realise how happy anyone could be. And even just being at the Weyr – not being a possession of Clom's family to be married to who they thought suitable if they ever got around to it." He nodded; he had often thought that the lot of holdbred girls was a raw one.

A'ira was feeling quite confused. This man was handsome like so many dragonriders but there was something about him which attracted her in a way she had never known before; and she was breathing rather quickly. She glanced up at him and blushed fierily.

"Weyr attitudes are very different of course" she tried to keep her voice casual, especially seeing the visible effect her blush had on him. "I've had to slap a few faces."

"Do you always slap faces?" He too tried to keep his voice neutral and casual. Shards, what was wrong with him!

"I always have – before." She said and raised her eyes to his, face burning. R'cal gasped. By mutual consent they walked almost blindly to the unoccupied junior queen's weyr that was presently used for visiting dragons as soon as A'ira had arranged in a rather hurried way for one of the older weyr children to watch her little ones

oOoOo

R'cal was convinced that A'ira's dead husband had been an idiot. Her responses of astonished gratitude culminating in something that rivalled dragon driven passion showed that the man was a clod in bed. He held her, marvelling that she should want him, and that after so long he could feel again for a woman.

"Excuse me, Blue Rider – I don't know your name?"

"R'cal"

"I'm A'ira now"

"It's lovely. Like you." She blushed and said,

"I – was going to ask – because I'm so ignorant – is this something that we walk away from or can it happen again?"

He kissed her.

"I'd like it to happen again. Frequently. This is – special."

"I never knew it could be so good. Is that what they mean about dragons?"

He smiled, and shook his head, stroking her white skin.

"Dragons only enhance it when they're mating too." He told her, suddenly jealous of the idea of some young puppy flying Joroth.

"_**Can you fly Joroth do you think you old fool?"**_

"_If you can fly her rider."_ Came the calm reply. _"I'll need plenty of rubs and hot cloths when she starts getting ready though – and I think it would be as well to go into training."_

A'ira was looking at him quizzically.

"Talking to Camnath?" He nodded, faintly amused that she had found out Camnath's name but not his.

"Checking to see if he thought he could fly Joroth when she rises." He said casually, clearing his throat. She wrapped her arms around him.

"I – I'd like that."

"Girl have you any idea how old the pair of us are? It's no foregone conclusion." She looked surprised.

"You look about the same age as Clom – something over thirty turns." He laughed sardonically.

"I'm older than that, A'ira. I'm R'gar's father – and he's thirty-three turns this summer."

She looked surprised, but not particularly bothered.

"You are more – athletic – than Clom" she murmured, blushing. R'cal found he had to prove it again.

oOoOo

Talana was taken aback, and a little chagrined to see Camnath with a very smug expression and his head proprietorially next to Joroth's. R'cal was nowhere to be seen, and A'ira's children were with young Mayana. T'lana reached out tentatively with her 'inner ear' and was astounded. She went to make klah and collect some sweet cakes to take in when her senses told her was an opportune moment.

A'ira blushed when T'lan came in with a tray, set it down and left; R'cal grunted.

"Suppose Camnath's been talking to her again, old fool" he grumbled affectionately. "Trust T'lan to know when I was wondering about whether to go get some klah." A'ira laughed ruefully.

"She does seem to know everything that goes on, doesn't she." She said, pouring him a mugful.

oOoOo

Talana was prevented from further interfering in R'cal's private life by the arrival dragonback of an illustrious visitor. Mirrith was bespoken by Brown Sralth who had conveyed him, and T'lana went out to meet Lord Holder Bargen. He spoke first as he swung down.

"Weyrwoman T'lana, how good to see you recovered." He said. "I hope you do not think ill of High Reaches for the incident?" T'lana held out her hand to him, shaking her head.

"It is a problem that needs to be addressed" she said frankly "But they were opportunists, not I think from the district, and you cannot then be held entirely responsible."

"I have of course punished the survivors in the worst way I could think of – and had the harpers tell of it to discourage others." He said. Talana nodded. She had already heard the drums speak of how the surviving kidnappers had been chained out during Fall, the worst form of execution available; and had wished that she had not been so quick to learn the drum measures. As someone with Rank now she would be expected to know some of the measures but not the full report that had gone to the Harper Hall. It had explained the rather grim expressions of the riders who had flown Thread that day; though she had sensed no dismay from them.

"It is a time when there needs to be a unified policy" she said carefully. Bargen snorted.

"Which is fine as long as you have sensible men who exchange information and aren't so fardling over proud that they prefer to hide a problem in case it makes them look bad." He shrugged. "Fools like Sangel will always whine about autonomy without seeing that greater communication and co-operation could only increase the ability to Hold autonomously."

T'lana hid a smile. He was almost quoting her comments to Lord Groghe during one of his little chats with her and L'rilly from her time in the Healer Hall. Evidently the shrewd old Lord Holder had taken her ideas on board and was now representing them as his own. Lord Bargen continued,

"I'm afraid I came to ask for your help again – your logic may work where I am baffled."

"I will certainly do what I can." Agreed T'lan, knowing that she would have to return one day to High Reaches Hold, and the longer it was put off the harder it would become.

"As you probably know, the Hold hosts race meetings – not perhaps so prestigious as those once held at Ruatha, but certainly enjoyed by all – at which skill in breeding and riding both are tested. Of course there are those who make their living solely on betting; and whilst it looks like laziness to win from someone else's industry, the truly successful are very skilled and knowledgeable, were often jockeys themselves once and are frequently excellent runner healers. Many hire out in the winter months as help in stables and this enables them also to study form for their craft." He paused. "This gives you some background and explains that there is an immense subculture surrounding racing."

Talana nodded, patiently.

"I know something of the background, my lord. My foster father breeds runner beasts for racing. He's not big time, but I picked up something of the atmosphere in my childhood."

Bargen brightened.

"You'll know then that some people seem to feel the need to tamper to win?"

"Drugging, hoof clogging, burs under saddles, drugging bribing and threatening jockeys – yes I know the tricks."

Bargen blinked at her matter of fact knowledge of the more common fixing tricks, and went on:

"We have a problem with tampering – and I want to get rid of it. In the last year or two, someone's been getting greedy; and sometimes we've even had favourites failing but there doesn't seem anything wrong with the runner or rider. There's certainly been no smell of the usual preparations used about the mouth of either. There is also an owner – one Arvik – whose beasts are, well shall we say unpredictable. His rider, Nanral has been accused of throwing races before now; but it's almost impossible to prove. The runners are good stock – but it doesn't always guarantee a win even if Nanral is riding to his best. I hate to accuse a man, but…"

"Then I shall certainly come." Said T'lana. "This could prove quite exhil – er, tricky."

oOoOo

Talana sent a note to Sarel via M'kel outlining a request for his aid, and explaining why shy could not come herself, it being rather a long way Straight; and her foster father returned with the blue rider, almost pathetically eager to help T'lana in any way he could; and also greatly looking forward to an opportunity to attend a major race meeting. She noted that he had a pouch full of all the marks he could muster and she knew that he would be doing some judicious betting. Talana explained the problem; and Sarel was pleased that she felt his opinion worth asking.

"This unreliable jockey" he said "Might be working for himself – or another, including the owner."

"I was going to ask a stupid question – but the point of losing with your own runners would be that you had bet secretly more against them than for them, wouldn't it?"

He nodded.

"The other skulduggery is probably unrelated, but I don't think it would have reached the proportions that Lord Bargen told you of unless it was well organised. It's sheer greed. If you're good you don't need to resort to tricks to live on the gees."

oOoOo

When Talana swooped in to land – well away from the runners – the attendant gather was already well under way. She sent Sarel to mingle and pick up what he could; and set out herself to admire the lithe runner beasts and reacquaint herself with the scene. She soon picked out the owner Arvik whose jockey Nanral had such a poor reputation; for Lord Bargen was having stiff words with him. Arvik replied,

"You may be sure, my lord, that Nanral will ride to his best ability. I have spoken to him most seriously about it; and his continued employment rests on it." He smiled, confidently. "High Flyer is a good runner, though she'll have a fair competition against Darkstar and Happy Prancer; it could go any way." Bargen grunted and nodded, moving off.

Sarel returned with some information.

"There is a man here I've seen before – his name is Grathel, and he's got a slightly unsavoury reputation. He takes bets for his living and calculates odds; there's a nasty pair go round with him to guard him, but word is they beat up bad debtors for him too." He pointed out a foxy little man, neatly, even nattily, dressed with soft looking hands. At his back were two unpleasant looking characters. One was big and muscular with the slack jaw of one whose brain never engages in activity if he can avoid it and cruel eyes that brought a shudder from Talana as it reminded her of the renegades. The other was taller, better dressed and appeared to be keeping his eyes moving continually about, on the watch. His gaze met hers, and she read the appraisal in his eyes, not so much of her womanhood as an instinctive acceptance of her as a possible threat. This man was dangerous. She let her eyes slide past as though the meeting of eyes was accidental, and turned, giggling to Sarel, imitating the foolish daughters of the wealthy. She felt the eyes leave her and relax.

"The tall one is trouble." She said. Sarel nodded, having realised her manoeuvre.

oOoOo

Talana made an effort to mingle with the owners, a feat made easier by her well dressed appearance and obvious knowledge about racing. She praised the points of the favourite, Darkstar, as her owner, one Tragen, led her to the cave complex where the runners waited for starter's orders. He grunted, but was obviously pleased.

"Aye, she's a good little mover." He acknowledged. "As her sister Darkspeed was. Looks like her too but for the star here on her forehead."

Further conversation Talana could not get from him; chatting generally to aficionados she discovered that Tragen was reckoned a taciturn old so and so; and rumours suggested that he'd once beaten a man to death over alleged drugging. She found Deever, owner of Happy Prancer a much more jovial man, willing to talk about the mare endlessly, citing her bloodline for generations. By his sly winks and comments she deduced that a little tampering never bothered him much, providing it fell within his rather elastic bounds of morality; and since these latter also seemed to include the taking of pretty girls to hay lofts she left him before he had tired of her company.

Arvik also seemed jovial enough, though he complained that the jockeys just weren't any good these days and lamented Nanral's occasional lack of skill. It occurred to Talana that his protests were a little overdone. However, he let her look at High Flyer (out of Windkin by Dragonracer) and glumly admitted, as though reluctant, to faults that Talana could not see. She was taken aback to see, as she thought, Darkstar led into Arvik's paddock until she saw that the runner had no blaze on the head.

"Is that Darkspeed?" she asked.

"Yes – yes. Bought her to breed off. Good bloodline. Pity about the joint disease." He said. "Look, excuse me miss, but there's a lot to do. Perhaps I'll see you after the race?"

oOoOo

Talana had a lot to think about. She was keeping an eye on Grathel's tame thugs, whose names she discovered were Breilin and Kettol. Privately she named them Slugfast and Slinker to suit their characters, and hoped to catch them out at something. However all that happened was that Slugfast – Breilin – picked a fight not long before the big race was due to start right in front of the ready caves; and as a crowd gathered she briefly lost sight of Kettol.

"Slinker is right for him" she grumbled; though she soon relocated him near the stable boy leading Darkstar out. The runner passed her and Talana thought of the dairy at her old home, a sudden clear picture of it in her mind. There was a sharp, sour smell that had evoked the memory…

oOoOo

The runners were under starter's orders – were away! The harper singing out the order told the story. Happy Prancer in the lead, Darkstar and High Flyer behind…High Flyer gaining…what was wrong with Darkstar? The runner was just so slow! High Flyer from Happy Prancer – and It's High Flyer, High Flyer takes the High Reaches trophy!

Tragen was staring, stunned.

Talana came up to him.

"Your stable boy" she said, "What are his origins?"

"Eh? If it's any business of yours, he's Grathel's youngest son. Mad keen on runners. Wanted a good training. I like to see keen youngsters."

"We need to see lord Bargen – and don't let that runner out of your sight. Take the bridle yourself and don't let go."

Tragen opened his mouth to blister the impudent girl who was giving him orders; caught her eye and thought better of it. Something had happened; and the Runnerholder was a shrewd enough man not to ask stupid questions of those who seemed to know what they were talking about.

oOoOo

Lord Bargen watched as Talana washed away the star on the runner's forehead. Tragen exclaimed in angry horror,

"But – that's Darkspeed! She should never run now – it would be too cruel!"

Talana nodded.

"Grathel and his heavies are in league with Arvik, to whom you sold Darkspeed. While Breilin made a diversion in fighting, Kettol helped the stable lad to swap the runners, painting out one star and painting in the other. The joint disease ensured that the runner would lose."

"How did you guess about the painting?" Asked Bargen.

"As the false Darkstar passed me I smelled something that made me think of dairies – Lime was to make the walls white. It washes in and out quite readily – and was sufficient if not studied closely to fool even the owner because of the remarkable likeness of the sisters."

"I shall have the culprits brought to me right away." Said Bargen. "I have already given orders that no-one is to leave. Thank you Lady Talana for stopping this source of embarrassment."

"Yes, I think my lord that you will find that this team has been responsible for most of your troubles. It was a great combination; one of the owners able to win or lose as he saw fit, with Grathel cashing in on the inside knowledge, especially if any runners that were real dangers to Arvik's beasts were – neutralised – in some way. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to enjoy the rest of the races!" said Talana

_A/N Tragen is going to reappear in later stories… he was too good a character to waste!_


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 Repercussions from the Past; and the Coining of a Word

"Slut! Bitch! Dragonriding no – good, you kill your children _Between_ while we have to carry your menfolk's seed!"

Talana turned in surprise at the bitter words; and the ragged woman tailed off as she saw the gentle curves of the little weyrwoman's gravid belly. However she soon resumed, shaking the arms of the skinny children she held by the wrists to emphasise her words.

"All of them randy turds! And how do they expect us to feed what they've dropped on us? How do they expect respectable girls to marry? You tell me that!"

"You evidently have grievance" began T'lana carefully. The woman spat, her face contorted in hatred that made her quite hag like.

"Grievance? For sure I have grievance! One daughter dead of birthing a brat, the other unmarriageable for the dead brat she bore and my man casting the whole of us out! And not enough food to even fill the brats out enough to make them saleable." She shook the two children again; and Talana strode up to her, eyes blazing.

"You may have grievance, woman, but by Mirrith's shell if you shake those children once again or talk of – of selling them, I'll slap you till your head rings!"

"You take them then if you're so keen! But I'll want my expenses covered – the effort they've taken me to rear – I want fifty marks apiece for them!"

Talana stared at her, horrified.

"You can't sell people like runnerbeasts!" She exclaimed.

"I didn't ask to saddled with them by T'kul! I had to feed them! Fair's fair!" She whined. Talana fished around in her pouch; she'd had a good day at the races and was well in pocket for her eye and skill. One hundred marks was beyond her; but she took what she had. She threw the marks at the woman.

"I have no jurisdiction over T'kul" she said. "But you could have come to the Weyr with your grievance when T'bor took over. I have no doubt you had ideas of raising them to an age to sell over and over at gathers but ran out of funds to keep going now you've lost your own looks. This is your compensation for T'kul's injustice plus the keep of the children; for the state they're in you've never spent more on them than the tossing of your leftovers! I'll pay no more. Is it witnessed, riders?" For several other riders had gathered. M'kel stepped forward.

"You should not pay, weyrwoman." He said, putting his foot over the marks as the woman scrabbled on the ground for them. "We shall take this to Lord Bargen and let him set compensation to be taken from the tithe to the Weyr. There should be no compensation for keep, since as you said she could have brought them to the Weyr before; and they are scarcely kept."

Talana had her arms around two frightened little girls.

"I just want it sorted M'kel" she said, "So we can take these little ones away from the old hag."

"I'll sort it." Said M'kel, grimly. He scooped up Talana's marks and dumped them in her pouch, dust and all. Then he conferred with the other riders as the crazy faced woman kept up a vituperative monologue. He came back to T'lana.

"Weyrwoman, we are agreed to save trouble to each contribute towards compensation if a harper can be found as an impartial witness. S'gell's gone to find one."

S'gell was not long returning with Samwil, whose addiction to horse racing made the harper easy to find. The matter was explained; and he thought hard.

"For the pain and inconvenience I should have said twenty five marks each to the woman and her daughter; and fifty for the loss of a daughter. But the compensation for the absent daughter shall be held until she herself collects it." He declared. The riders gave according to their means, including T'lana, and the harper gave the marks to the woman, holding back the twenty five for her daughter. She hissed malevolently at him, but grabbed the marks and scuttled off. Samwil shook his head.

"I mislike the look of that one." He said.

Talana nodded grimly.

"That is why I was disinclined to be generous." She said. "Riders, help me outfit these babes. They have a cold flight ahead." The cluster of two dozen or more riders willingly found odd pieces of clothing to wrap the little girls until they sweated on the ground; and Talana strapped them on.

"My thanks for your support." She said to the others as she left.

oOoOo

The two little girls seemed too numbed even to be afraid of Mirrith. Talana talked to them cheerfully, telling them that they would have a home in the weyr and plenty to eat. One of them started to cry.

"Shan't eat, shan't eat! I won't be big enough to be eaten by a dragon."

Talana stiffened in horror.

"Dragons don't eat people!" she exclaimed. "Tell her Mirrith!" she heard Mirrith's rather hurt mindvoice explaining that dragons never ate people because it was extremely bad manners and if she hadn't been such a very little girl, she, Mirrith, would have had to have taken offence. Talana itched to slap the woman who had filled these babes' heads with wicked nonsense. She judged they were about the same age as Sagarra had been when she had first brought her back to the Weyr; at least she had experience of the age group; and Sagarra had experience of rejection and would be able to empathise with them over that. The hour and a half flight was perhaps a bad idea, perhaps she should have sent them back with someone going _Between_; but they seemed none too healthy and the risk seemed considerable. She tried telling them about some of the people they'd meet; and got some attention, and even a nervous giggle as she described the pomposity of Orth.

"I should have told you my name" she said. "I am called T'lana. What are you called?"

They exchanged nervous glances. The one who had giggled volunteered,

"Sometimes we called 'Hey You' and sometimes 'Brat' and sometimes 'Shurrup'. Do weyrchildren have their own names like Pomana and Poralla?" She ventured the question.

Talana dashed a hand across suddenly wet angry eyes.

"I never met any children before who don't have names." She said quietly. "We will give you names of your own. Names that reflect the dragonrider ancestry you bear." She held them to her; and at first was horrified to feel them pull away, afraid; but she sent feelings of love and protection, and they relaxed against her. The one who had spoken first said,

"You are more like Poralla. She don't beat us often, and sometimes she cuddles us if Pomana in't around."

"I don't beat any children at all." Said Talana indignantly. "I have spanked my little girl once for being very bad – she did something dangerous that could have hurt her – but I'd never beat her." She remembered the time she had caught Sagarra halfway up one of the seven spindles with three weyrlings and had been so relieved to get her down that she had applied a heavy hand where it would do most good impartially on all four children to remember for future reference. "My man doesn't either." She said firmly.

"Men give marks to hurt women." Said the other.

"Some men give marks; and some men hurt women." Modified Talana. "Most men are ordinary people who look after their women and children. You'll see when you have a real family in the weyr. Pomana didn't do right by you. She's bad." They looked at her with round eyes, agreeing but terrified by someone voicing the thought. They would need years of love and tolerance to be able to find out how normal children should feel, thought Talana.

"_Not if we make them feel it inside."_ Said Mirrith. _"Dragons can talk to them and help them see that people do love each other, mostly."_

"_**Mirrith, you darling. Can either of them hear you anyway?"**_

"_I don't think so. They show no signs. They will probably Impress when they are grown, though."_

Talana smiled to herself. Mirrith was in full support of Pilgra's female wing, having been a little betwixt and between until she attained her full thirty eight meter length, almost twice the length of most Greens.

"Would you like me to give you names?" She asked the girls. Wide eyed still they nodded. "You can always change them later if they don't suit you, but it would be nice to have something to call you that belongs just to you." She thought a moment; the names must be contractible, and perhaps reflect their parentage. The woman implied that she and her daughters had been all raped by T'kul but if he was on his own, surely they could have fought. Unless, of course, T'kul had threatened them with Salth and the old bronze had given up and failed to contradict him. T'bor had told her that people had fled from dragons when he had first taken over at High Reaches so intimidation appeared a favoured tactic of the shamed dragonman. Nonetheless he was a dragonman; and the sire should be indicated in their names. "I think" she said "Takula and Kullana." Indicating the bolder one for the more formal rendition and the other for the derivative. "What do you think of those?" Takula smiled, tentatively.

"Nice." She said.

"Pretty" added Kullana. The sisters said their new names to themselves, testing them and feeling them in their mouths; but with a wary eye on T'lana in case so much talking would earn them punishment. Talana had an urge to cry, but suppressed it. She wished now she had just taken the children and not paid compensation but insisted on a renunciation. She relayed her findings about their upbringings to all the dragons still at the race meeting to tell their riders; and as an afterthought reached forward to the weyr to prepare people there. Thus she was met by Pilgra and Keerana with clothing and food and ready laps for the newest members of the extended weyr family; and their physical needs were catered to as Talana spent time with her own four children and fosterlings and asked Sagarra if she would take a special interest in these unwanted and unloved babes.

"Of course I will, T'lan." Sagarra hugged her. "You did it for me when I first came here." Talana hugged the little girl to her tightly.

"You are the specialest, Sagarra" she told her. "The best daughter anyone could have."

"Aw, wherry teeth." Said Sagarra; but she was pleased.

oOoOo

Pilgra said,

"There is no way you can foster them."

"I know that, Pilgra" agreed T'lana patiently "And besides, I'd be the wrong person. They need someone calm and loving and totally committed to making up for the lost years of childhood. Someone who isn't at the hub of weyr life or I'd suggest Calla. Calla's daughter might be suitable, or that eldest daughter of Kylara, Lalora. After all she knows what it's like to have an inadequate parent – and wasn't she fostered by Manora at Benden for a while?"

"Yes, that's right. Ranelly looked after her and T'kil at first when they went back in time, but she went to Benden to be fostered when they had caught up, together with the younger three. She was old enough to appreciate the problems Kylara was causing; it's not been easy for her. Especially as she had to make shift for herself a lot when she was little, Ranelly always danced to Kylara's tune first."

"She's been helping with fostering the youngest anyway, hasn't she?" asked T'lana.

"Yes, though she helped with all of them. B'kyle and Kytula are fully adult and of course Kibor has been presented for Impression twice."

"If he's who I think he is, he's only waiting for the right dragon. Don't think I don't know that you've been bringing them up for the last few years – and no doubt even before the queens died."

Pilgra laughed and sighed.

"It would have been nice to have had children of my own." She said wistfully. "I think it was coming forward all those turns."

Talana hugged her friend fiercely.

"Well why don't you foster them, Pilgra dearest?" She asked. "You've mentioned before that you had to put up with T'kul's attentions. They could have been yours."

Pilgra looked at her thoughtfully

"They are much younger than any children I've ever had to look after before – Kibor was eight when they came to High Reaches and he was the youngest" she said "But – why not? It's not as though I don't have competent junior weyrwomen to help out with the duties of running a weyr. Yes, I think I shall. Give Lalora a chance to find someone of her own and get her own family if she wants one!" She added, "But I am at the hub of weyr life as you put it – and I must put the weyr first."

"I think that it won't matter because you are such a very special person. If they know the rest of us well, and Lalora is perhaps an auntie to them, they've then got more than one person to run to in case anything prevents you from being as active in their upbringing."

"In case Thread kills or cripples me – or Segrith you mean."

"It's something we live with." Shrugged T'lana.

oOoOo

Sagarra was happy to help the sisters adjust to weyr life; and she was gentler than many of her contemporaries in this respect, patient with ignorance of weyr ways and recognising the withdrawal of the uncertain, frightened children. She showed them about, and at first gently bullied them until they began to find their feet; and above all she encouraged them to turn to dragons for comfort. Living under Pilgra's aegis they tended towards Segrith for comfort; and as Sagarra was just a little in awe of the senior queen earned her respect as well as sympathy. Pilgra was plainly built for motherhood, and had them running to her for caresses in no time. Talana's heart went out to her barren friend seeing how much love she had there to give.

oOoOo

Barrenness was evidently not a problem for A'ira. R'gar rescheduled some of the weyrling drills to take into account her sudden bouts of sickness in the mornings. T'lana had said nothing to R'gar of his father's involvement with the girl – he had managed to find another excuse to visit the weyr before A'ira's sickness manifested itself and stayed beyond the time he took to pass messages and greet his grandchildren – and R'gar was unaware of the identity of the father of her child. He had not pried or questioned her, beyond asking whether she was contented in her condition, and adjuring her to tell him immediately if she was having any problems which would affect her efficacy as a weyrling or jeopardise Joroth. A'ira recognised the concerned embarrassment behind his gruff words; for even in a short time she was coming to know R'cal. When he next visited she was nervous of speaking to him.

"What is it, my lovely?" he asked, as they lay together, his fire lizards chirping contentedly on the end of the bed.

"R'cal – how do you feel about repeating fatherhood?" she asked.

"You're pregnant?" for a moment horror swept his face and she looked away. He turned her to him. "A'ira, is it true that if you've already had children there is less danger of dying?" His voice was pleading.

"I believe most deaths are with first babies, yes." She said. "Afterwards, everything's been stretched."

He pulled her to him; and he was trembling.

"My – R'gar's mother – Garla – died birthing him. I could not bear it to happen again." She stroked his face, telling him that she had no intention of dying, that she'd sailed through childbed twice with no trouble, and only three miscarriages, one of those because she was young for the first one. Again R'cal had an urge to shake the deceased Clom.

"You see that you don't die." He said fiercely. "And I'll be right here to see to it. I've asked T'bor to find someone else to run Oterel's messages."

A'ira embraced him, overjoyed; she needed nothing more to make her happiness beyond anything she could have believed.

oOoOo

R'cal felt he should break the news to R'gar. He sought him out and steered him firmly into Laranth's weyr for a talk.

"I've not always been a good father to you." He began. R'gar gripped his shoulder.

"I understand now what I never could before." He said. "I should feel lost without T'lan. I like to think that I'd find comfort in the children; but who can know how they'll react?"

"You looked so like her to my eyes. I did not realise that you resembled me at all – until that cheeky minx of yours pointed it out. But – how would you feel if I were with someone else – and perhaps you had rather late siblings?"

"I'd be delighted, R'cal. Not that I'd ever be able to treat any hypothetical siblings as such – there's rather an age gap."

"You're going to laugh at me I think."

"Why should I?"

"She's scarcely any older than T'lan I think, though she has children already."

R'gar gave him an old fashioned look.

"R'cal, have you been knocking off A'ira?"

R'cal looked uncomfortable, and nodded, flushing slightly. R'gar grinned at him and gave him a bear hug.

"Well good for you. And she's certainly happier than she was when she first arrived! I say, go for it; you're both good for each other!"

oOoOo

Talana chafed most under the restrictions her pregnancy imposed on her when the idea exchange began at the Smithcrafter Hall. She agreed to look after Melth so H'llon could go with R'gar in the hope (she said) that between them they would bring back a full account.

R'gar brought back more than an account; he brought T'lan a gift from Master Wansor.

"He told me that it's flawed – a journeyman made a mistake grinding it" he explained as he handed her the lens. "It won't do for a distance viewer, but he thought you might find a use for it."

T'lan gave a squeak of excitement as she saw the degree of magnification the single lens gave as she held it in her hand, and she examined her fingers minutely making little noises of fascination and discovery.

"Oh how wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I must think of something really special to do for Wansor. This will really help me look for tiny things – you know I found that hair on Seela? – Because I'm convinced that no-one can be anywhere without leaving a trace of themselves behind, like a thread off their clothes or a hair that might identify them. It really expands the whole horizons of Logicating."

"Is there such a word?" asked R'gar, laughing at her enthusiasm.

"There is now." She said firmly. "No-one has ever done it before, not that I've heard of. I'm Pern's first Logicator. When this Pass has ended I shall start a crafthall for it."

R'gar laughed and kissed her.

"You'll have H'llon joining you for one." He said. "He's gotten worries about dragonriders becoming despised again. He'll be glad of something to do that would make Melth valued – if only for flitting back and forth looking for lost daughters and stray corpses!"

"I'm convinced there could be a lot more to it than what I've already done. If the Lords Holders had unified policies on not just how to deal with criminal elements but also on what to do if renegades cross boundaries – because mark my words, one day there'll be a large organised group that wreaks havoc and they'll not know what to do about them. I know the Harpers disseminate information about those who have been banished and why; but if there were notes about what they did and how they did it - I'm convinced that a criminal could be known by his work in the same way as a – a woodcrafter can be recognised by his chisel strokes – they could be caught without anyone seeing them. In the same way that I was able to describe whassissname, Someth's rider at Fort by what he left and what Seela heard. And dragons would be useful, not merely for going places quickly, but for being able to overfly areas and see if there are paths or camps that should not be there and so on." She grinned at him. "I could go on for hours – but I suppose the people I need to convince are the Lords Holders – and the Harpers. After all they disseminate information; so they must be pretty good at gathering it." She pulled a face. "Of course, if anyone did take me seriously, it'd be put under the Harper Hall since they already have the Right to settle disputes and act in a judicial manner."

"Don't you think you've enough on your plate with a fair of children and Thread to fly?" Teased R'gar.

"I'll not be even a half century before the Pass ends; and the children will be grown. I've no desire to become like Mardra or go crazy with inactivity under the ingratitude of Lords Holders. H'llon is right; people have short memories. I don't want any grovelling gratitude like the Oldtimers did but I don't want to be discarded like an old boot either."

There wasn't a lot R'gar could think of to say to that argument; so he expended some time and effort not saying anything; and Talana seemed well content with the non-arguments he mustered.

oOoOo

It was H'llon who pointed out (when playing with T'lana's lens) that the wrinkles at the ends of fingers had very distinctive patterns.

"It's like wood grain!" he explained excitedly to T'lana. "Also, a lot of illiterate holders put their thumbprints to documents in lieu of a signature. Do you think it could be significant?"

"Quite possibly." Agreed T'lana. "Tell you what, H'llon, you and that rascally band of seabred weyrlings you lug about with you can get the fingerprints of everybody in the Weyr and see if there are any patterns in families and if they really are all different."

H'llon opened his mouth to protest the description of his dormitory mates (which was not entirely accurate since he also weyred with the harper L'gal and Solpeth and also T'mon and Denth, whom T'bor felt would do better under the protection of the two steadier older lads ) but he thought better of comment. She was, he realised belatedly, teasing him; and he merely grimaced at the enormity of the task.

"Should keep those young Hellions out of mischief." Grunted R'gar.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 More about Wenner…

The girl Ramina made the gruelling climb to the weyr with growing trepidation as she approached it. She reached the stark black rock palisade that ringed it and stared upward in dismay at that sheer wall. Seeing no way in she sat down, exhausted, and wept in despair. Her preoccupation was so great that she did not notice the soft breeze of landing dragon wings or hear footsteps walking towards her; and she started at the kindly hand laid on her shoulder.

"You're a long way from any home, little sister. Are you trying to reach the Weyr?"

She raised her tear stained face to look at M'kel.

"I can't see how to get in" she said, hopelessly.

M'kel extended a hand to help her up.

"Hop onto Vorth here – and you'll be in in no time."

Ramina followed his expansive wave with her eyes and suddenly realised that she was talking to a dragonman. She pulled herself up straight and stood looking like a naughty weyrling caught at mischief.

"Please my lord dragonman – Blue Rider" - it would not do to insult the dragon by failing to refer to him – "I did not mean any disrespect."

"Of course you did not. Hey, do I look offended at anything? I mean do I?" grinned M'kel. He thought it made a nice change in a way to get respect from holder folk, but he liked informality. He added, "I'm just wondering what is so important that a child like you must toil up the mountain. If you wanted to come on Search, a request to your Lord Holder is usually the easier option."

"Oh –no, I wasn't coming for that. Only – I've heard that dragonmen help people who have Problems." She blurted.

"Well in that case, I'll take you straight to weyrwoman T'lana. Problem solving is her speciality."

His smile was faintly mocking; but not, she thought, unpleasantly so; and with some trepidation she let him help her onto Vorth.

oOoOo

Talana listened to Ramina's story, periodically hooking one of the now mobile twins away from the lake with a practised toe. The girl explained that her father was a cotholder whose wife had died four turns previously birthing the youngest of her three younger brothers. At almost nine turns, Ramina had helped out with the children and they had managed a decent living; but over the last thirteen months or so things had been going wrong. Herdbeasts and sheep acquired mysterious cuts, which festered, milk appeared to dry up or what little they got went sour in the dairy. Stands of crops had been trampled and eaten when the small herd of animals had unaccountably got in amongst them. There were other small annoying incidents and Ramina added,

"Jancet – my father – was at his wits' end. He was convinced that someone was playing malicious tricks on us. He set himself to watch at night – and now he's disappeared. I'm so afraid that something terrible has befallen him, and apart from that being awful, how am I supposed to Hold with just two striplings of ten and eight turns to aid me and little Dortol to see to too?" She sniffed, miserably.

Talana gave the girl a cuddle. She might have been a little old for such things, but she was so grateful to pass on the worrying to an adult, to have responsibility taken from her even in such a trivial way that she burst into tears. T'lana stroked her head and shushed her, rocking her gently.

"I will fly out to your cothold" she said when the storm of sobs had passed, "I guess it's not far if you walked here – I can't go _Between_ right now you see." She patted her rapidly swelling belly. "I'll get a couple of stout lads who can give you a hand with the heavy chores that have built up, and they can also help search for your father." Talana knew she was sailing close to the wind in the matter of the law concerning competency to Hold; but if malicious persons had caused problems and the girl felt there was no-one else to turn to, Talana felt it was a good exception. Besides, Lord Bargen surely owed her enough to cut a little slack!

oOoOo

Talana scooped up the twins who were protesting at having their way to a sticky patch of mud barred by Mirrith's tail. Rofel had just found his feet and had been standing unsteadily, legs splayed apart drumming on Mirrith's unyielding scales. Rogan appeared to be trying to burrow under her, backside in the air, head butting. He crawled everywhere, faster than Talana thought such an unwieldy motion should take him; Rofel had never crawled. He went straight from wiggling on his tummy – usually backwards – to suddenly deciding to stand with a gappy grin of triumph. Talana delivered both to Lanelly and sent out a call to two dragons to tell off their riders to be ready for a trip. She had one or two shrewd suspicions about the origins of these tricks; but her query to Ramina quashed these. It transpired that Jancet's cothold was situated in an isolated valley, its borders marching with no man's.

"Father used to joke and say that we were so far from anywhere that Fax had died before we heard he was our overlord." Ramina managed a watery smile as she told Talana this. Talana scratched the side of her nose. Not then an attempt to take over good, broken lands to extend a holding.

"D'you have any immediate over-Holder?" She asked. Ramina shook her head.

"We're independent. We've been independent for generations. Mother's father Held, and father took it on when he was caught in First Fall."

Talana shuddered.

"How do you manage about that – knowing when fall is?" She asked. Ramina looked surprised.

"By the creepy feeling in my back. My brothers can't feel it – mother could, she got very upset about her father going out, apparently – so I suppose it's only women that can?"

Talana shook her head.

"Shells and shards, it's a gift worth having; I wish I had someone talented that way in the weyr." She itched to ask the child to consider attempting Impression; but now was not a good time. "Well, we'll get you back home; those are the helpers I sent for now coming. You can wear one of my jackets; it's cold up there even in Straight flight."

Ramina looked surprised. The late autumn day was hot, even this high up in the mountains. By this season, mists and dew froze overnight on the plants and the sun was high before the icy vegetation fully melted; but the sun was warm to the skin and the thinness of the air made sunburn a very real risk.

oOoOo

The young boys Janor and Ravis were totally excited by the arrival of three dragons, one of which was longer than the cot and barn put together. Talana had picked two of her clutchmates who had been bred to farmwork to accompany her. L'ster, who rode brown Gerrinth, was craftbred in the Beasthold – he had left because he found attitudes there rather conservative – and R'bret, rider of blue Bedwyth, was Holdbred, his father a journeyman farmer. They soon had the two older boys chatting away as they sorted out the animals and did the heavy work. Then the three dragonriders proceeded to fly a sweep pattern to look for Jancet.

oOoOo

It was the patch of colour in the bushes that drew R'bret's attention. The others joined him as Bedwyth called them, and they investigated. Talana had her arm around Ramina's shoulders as they showed her the body. The child cried out, and clung to Talana, burying her face against her.

"That's Jancet." She said in a sick little voice. Talana gave her a hug.

"You'd better go sit with Mirrith dear." She said. "She'll be with you and look after you. She likes having her eyebrows rubbed." She added, to give the girl something else to think about. "We" she said, a grim note creeping into her voice "Need to find out just what happened here."

oOoOo

It was evident from the broken twigs and scored earth that the body of Cotholder Jancet had been dragged into the bushes out of sight of a casual glance. The way he died was also evident; his left temple was completely crushed in by a heavy blow. L'ster turned away and retched as Talana turned the head slightly, the better to see the wound. Talana felt sickened herself; but the search for clues subjugated such feelings. She got her magnifying glass from her pouch and examined the ghastly wound carefully. L'ster and R'bret watched nervously as she grunted to herself; and reached delicately into the bloody mess to withdraw something. She held the minute object up to the light, examining it through the glass.

"Well boys, if you search around, you may find bits of a broken bottle." She said. "Be very careful."

"Broken bottle?" Asked R'bret, surprised.

"There was a shard of glass in the wound. It looks like vintner's glass. He was hit on the head with a bottle. If we can find enough of the bottle it might tell us something. It might not; but it certainly will not if you don't look for it." She added acerbically. The two young men hastened to do her bidding as Talana felt the man's jaw and extremities and checked for other wounds. The body appeared to have lost all rigor, and indeed one of the things Talana had noticed was that there were already tiny maggots hatched in the wound. Ramina had waited all day before setting out for the weyr and the weather had been quite warm, so he had probably died sometime during the early hours of the morning. Which, she thought, one could have reasonably suggested anyway. He was otherwise unhurt, barring some scratches that had probably come from being dragged into the bushes. Blood had flowed from the head wound onto the ground, so presumably the unfortunate man was not quite dead when he was brought here.

There was a shout from R'bret; his keen eyes had spotted something. Talana eased her clumsy feeling body up and went to see what he had found.

R'bret was justly pleased with himself. He held carefully the neck and part of the shoulders of a bottle.

"And see, T'lan, there's a part of a sooty fingerprint on it!" He declared. "If that crazy woodcrafter's right, it'll prove who held the bottle!"

"I'm glad someone listens to H'llon's explanations." Grinned Talana. "Also, R'bret, there's a fragment of a vintner's mark. Do you see if you can find some more shards and maybe we can identify where it was purchased." She added "And watch out for some kind of campfire. Soot doesn't appear on fingers without there's been fire."

R'bret only turned up a couple of significant pieces of glass; the force of the blow appeared to have shattered the bottle into tiny pieces. One bit was the bottom; but the other had a little more of the vintner's mark on it.

"If I put these together I can draw part of it, anyway." Said Talana. "The bottom shape suggests Tillek hold: so we'll ask the Mastervintner there where batches of this Journeyman's wines were sent if he can recognise the mark from a partial drawing."

The dragons helped in the search for a campfire; and Bedwyth reported one seen from the air as L'ster set up a shout from the ground. Both fires were at the edge of a grove of vigorously growing fellis trees; and the boys groaned when Talana explained the next task.

"We will search around the area for anything that might have been left behind; and we will sift through the ashes to see if anything useful to us might have been thrown away and only partially consumed."

oOoOo

The search was long and mucky, and evening was drawing rapidly in before Talana was satisfied that they could find nothing more. She ran through their finds,

"Several half charred animal bones – not very helpful. A bone button; common enough in type, but anyone who has lost one may be noticeable. A broken strap, partly burned; someone is going to want to replace that, and a new strap on and old pack – it looks like a pack strap – might give us a clue." She smiled at them ruefully. "So far it's only things that could help us prove a presence in the region if we have suspects to hand; the thumbprint is the same though that does prove murder. We also have a thirty-second-piece, stamped with the Healer Hall symbol – and your pile of cooked vegetation, L'ster." She got up. "Which I shall now look at." She went over to the pile of stuff by the trees that L'ster had earlier described to her as 'a load of boiled greens' and had been shy about admitting to as a find. Talana picked up some of the mushy stuff, feeling it, and sniffing it. Her eyes widened.

"Fellis!" she said. "That combined with the Healercraft mark gives me a thought. There's heaps of discarded fellis here – enough to be very profitable if that process Wenner was using has been used!" Quickly she filled the young men in on the Journeyman's immoral use of a dangerously hallucinogenic derivative of fellis. They returned to the cot with their portable finds, with Talana all the more desirous of tracing the bottle of wine in the hopes of tracing Wenner.

"First thing tomorrow, L'ster, you take this to Tillek." She said, as she completed a drawing of the fragments of the mark. "R'bret, I want you and Bedwyth helping Mirrith and me look for paths and trails. If Wenner has been here more than a couple of times, he may have left a trail; and it's suggestive that Jancet started having trouble within a couple of months of Wenner leaving Fort. He must have seen these fine fellis trees and reckoned this nice little valley would be a good centre of operations. Poor Jancet must have happened upon him, and he hit him. I really do not want this creep to get away again. And we're staying overnight to protect the kids. We will set guard, and the dragons can also take their turn with us. Anyone who is ruthless enough to try to force a man out and then to kill him – even though it was almost certainly not planned – might well try to get rid of the children too. If he saw us, he'd be concerned to get rid of any possible complainant to Bargen."

L'ster and R'bret nodded. They knew that desperate men could be dangerous.

oOoOo

There were no night alarms, though Gerrinth reported a possible disturbance on the hillside; however as it ceased he did not bother to refer the matter to L'ster until the morning. The dragons had grumbled a little about acting as watchwhers; but Talana had told them that this was a job that could not POSSIBLY be trusted to watchwhers, it was too important.

Come the morning all the dragons had congregated again, and the three riders took off to undertake their various tasks. Gerrinth and L'ster went promptly _Between_ and Talana and R'bret wheeled their respective dragons round to cover the edge of the valley from the air.

It was only when Talana took Mirrith up high on a thermal to pass down the valley again that she noticed something. Urging Mirrith to maintain altitude she peered down through the rapidly dissipating shreds of mist. The faintest of tracks were visible – by the fact that they were overgrown with different colour vegetation. Clever, she thought, he does not use the same approach once the vegetation starts to be worn away – but what no-one but a dragonrider could know is that new growth is a different colour when seen from above. She searched for a confluence of these paths – which appeared to be somewhere at the rocky, vegetation–bare side of the valley. Talana swore, and passed on the information to Bedwyth. R'bret waved in acknowledgement from twenty or thirty dragonlengths below, and circled to mark the place. Gerrinth burst out from _Between_ further down the valley; and Talana signalled return and confer.

oOoOo

L'ster was full of news.

"I spoke to the Mastervintner" he said "And showed him your sketch; and he fairly boiled. He wanted to know if the Weyr had been cheated!"

"Oh yes?" Talana leaned forward intently, peering over the mug of klah Ramina had made for them.

"Apparently this is the work of a journeyman Jarris; he's been expelled and exiled for misrepresentation of wares on a systematic basis. But he'd set his mark on some empty bottles, and he could use them to sell wine as craft-approved." L'ster grinned at her. "I even have a good description. He's a big fellow with coarse black hair and a bad temper – could be R'gar so far" he said, hastily ducking as she swung a good-natured punch at him "- with close-set eyes and thin lips. Sounds a really mean looking fellow. D'you reckon he could be in league with Wenner?"

Talana pursed her lips, thinking.

"I would have said that it is highly likely. There are limited places that the holdless can find shelter, and rogues can always find other rogues. Which being so I am more inclined to think that maybe this Jarris killed Jancet rather than Wenner. Master Oldive described Wenner as a weaselly little fellow. We have something of a lead; but there is much to search. I do not want Wenner to get away again; but I do not want to insult Lord Bargen. I will send him a message; one of you take it, the other will fly with me so that if he tries to run again we shall see." With that Talana rose; and pacing back and forth spoke an outline of the story and asked permission from the Lord Holder to proceed.

"Can one of you remember that?" She asked. R'bret sprang to his feet and repeated her words back; and at a nod from her was away to High Reaches Hold. Talana took again to the air, this time in L'ster's company; and they surveyed the region around where the tenuous trail petered out. The landscape was bleak and bare and there was little cover; no-one was on the move, or else was very skilfully hidden. Talana believed that Wenner would be sure that his trail was invisible and would wait until investigations ceased before breaking cover from his hiding place. There were cracks enough in the rugged rock walls; any one might conceal a viable cave.

It was the blackened patch on the ground that caught her eye. Talana came lower and saw that dark material was scattered on the ground near a streamlet that ran into the little valley. Landing, she noticed that it mingled well with the dark soil as seen close to; and examining it found small portions of charcoal.

"Debris from a fire." She murmured too herself. "Not for comfort perhaps – though it's pretty chilly at night now – but because cooking fellis inside is too risky? Those campsites were quite old" she quickly remounted and Mirrith flew off. Talana marvelled again how things invisible on the ground came rapidly into view as one moved upwards. She was tempted to investigate further; but she was not rash enough to risk tackling an unknown number of rogues.

oOoOo

R'bret returned from the Hold with three men, including Steward Nordar. He bowed to Talana.

"Weyrwoman T'lana, I am pleased to renew the acquaintance. Lord Bargen feels that if renegades are on the soil of one Beholden to High Reaches then High Reaches Hold men should take them; but if the dragonfolk wish to volunteer assistance in any way I am instructed to accept." He smiled gravely.

"You are a welcome sight, Steward Nordar." Said T'lana. "And I trust you will remember me to your excellent son. The Weyr is always happy to co-operate with the Hold in any way it can. Now we've done the politics, shall we get down to the nitty gritty?"

Nordar roared with laughter.

"Indeed, it's an excellent idea weyrwoman." He said.

Talana filled Nordar and his men in on everything she knew and surmised; and told of the scattered ash.

"I feel sure that a cave nearby lends succour to these bandits." She said "And there is no time to waste. I am going along as transport and lookout only this time; I'd not be much use in a fight."

oOoOo

Lord Bargen's men were evidently expert trackers. They picked up sign that Talana had missed; though she stored it away for future reference. The cave mouth was soon located; and by the noise of cries and the fear that Talana 'heard' there was little resistance. Three prisoners were marched out, one of them – a big, mean looking man, presumably Jarris – was protesting that no-one could ever say who had done the killing; it would only be on the word of another prisoner. Talana smiled grimly.

"Wrong Jarris." She said.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" he cringed in superstitious fear. "Do them dragons read thoughts?"

"You told me your name when you felled Jancet with your own bottle." Said Talana. "And you told me you held it by your thumbs. Even without H'llon's patent process, neither of the others has hands large enough."

The man attempted to lunge at her, but was held back. Talana watched them bind him with cold eyes. She had less sympathy for those prepared to destroy the minds of the unwary than even the simple opportunists that had seized her and her friends. R'bret came out of the cave.

"There's heaps of the stuff back there – in pots and jars. I sniffed it; it smells like fellis – but there's something peculiar about it. It made my head swim." He said.

"It'd do more than that if you took it my lad." Said T'lana grimly. "You can get the prisoners to dig a good deep hole – no sense us tiring ourselves out for their crimes – and pour the lot of it in and bury it." Nordar nodded; and it was done. The steward took T'lana aside and said quietly,

"What of the children? Lord Bargen was willing to send a man until the oldest boy is capable, but you can't tell if temptation for land ready broken might drive a man to dishonour."

"A point I had considered. Tell me Steward, if the girl attracted a number of suitors hoping she might try for Impression, and they happened to help out say, once a week, would that violate any principles do you think?"

Nordar pursed his lips.

"A tricky point….but if any individual dragonmen were to happen to try to win favours by proving that they had not become effete in the weyr, one could scarcely fault them, could one? I would suggest though that it might be a bad – habit - to establish." He added as his eyes twinkled at her. She grinned.

"I'll try not to let interfering get to be too bad a habit." She promised.

"It's not you, weyrwoman" he added hastily. "You have always interfered" he twinkled again "In a most courteous and charming manner. Some might not." Talana nodded.

"There are weyrwomen and weyrwomen." She said.

"You said it not I." He concurred.

oOoOo

Talana explained to Ramina that 'suitors' would visit to help; and of course if she was in the future interested in any of them that was her own business. Ramina was taken aback at first; but she was a practical girl. Talana also offered to have her smallest brother fostered for a year or two at the weyr; and when she was assured that he should visit frequently, she acquiesced gratefully. Talana herself promised to visit from time to time to see how things were; and the dragonfolk left, Talana already drawing up a mental rota of suitable 'suitors'.

oOoOo

H'llon provided a surprising sequel; he was delighted to find that his fingerprints had proved useful, and demanded the entire story. He stopped Talana half way through the narrative.

"Wait a minute – you're saying she senses Thread in a tone that suggests that's weird."

"You mean you sense Thread?"

"Of course I do. Don't you? Firelizards do. It's the same feeling you get before storms."

"No" said Talana with great patience. "I don't sense Thread: and I don't know anyone that does. It's one of the great uses of firelizards that they can. And what's this about storms? Do you sense storms too?"

"Er – yes." H'llon was beginning to wonder if he was in trouble.

"Shards and shells! Now I understand how Pilgra felt when I admitted to my hearing abilities!" Talana exclaimed. "H'llon lad, you're a useful boy to have around. Just apprise someone if there's going to be a big weather change or unexpected Threadfall, huh?" And she grinned at him. He grinned back, unable to resent her picking up R'gar's habit of referring to weyrlings as 'lad' although he was a good turn older than she!

"I never meant to deceive you" he said.

"No, when you do something, it's just natural. I know." She said, slapping him on the back. "But you might find out if any of the others can do anything unusual."

H'llon nodded. He was delighted to be useful, and even more delighted that the fingerprint idea had merit! He went to see to Melth in high spirits.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12 An Early Arrival, a Painting, and a Wetnurse

Tamalenth clutched, laying thirty-seven eggs, though no queen was present. Tamalenth was however quite smug and insistent that L'rilly should make sure that her wonderful eggs were provided with suitable candidates. Talana suggested inviting Geriana to draw the hatching with a front row seat in case one of the greens fancied her as a rider; and have her along also to record the viewing of the eggs by the candidates.

"To have visual records of such things would be a good idea in any case" she said. "It would be wonderful to have something as a reminder all the time; and also if we have reminders it will enable the idea that Impression is open to all to be perpetuated to future generations. We all know how much got forgotten in the long Interval."

L'rilly nodded.

"I agree. And as you say we can hope that she Impresses too."

oOoOo

Geriana was happy to come and have the opportunity to come and draw on fine sheets of paper as much as she wanted. She said,

"Just imagine being encouraged – and paid! – to do what father often beat me for – wasting valuable resources. And he never had anything so fine for me to use!" She enjoyed drawing dragons and spent long hours recording all aspects of Weyr life. As Impression drew closer L'rilly and T'lana became more convinced that Geriana would Impress.

The big day arrived, and guests started arriving rapidly as the candidates hustled to the hatching grounds. Geriana's charcoal sticks were busy, catching little vignettes, Holderfolk mincing awkwardly on the hot sands, nervous knots of boys, R'gar swooping in on Laranth with the lad who had broken his leg the day before, L'rilly standing on the ledge by Tamalenth's head and a dozen other little scenes. Tamalenth had permitted her to sit right on the hatching ground floor with the easel that H'llon had made when he had realised her need for one.

Lord Deckter waved T'lana over to him after managing a good peer at Geriana's work.

"Need to ask you something later, T'lana. Shan't spoil the moment now. Look, it's starting!"

The first egg was rocking; and Talana sat back to enjoy the spectacle. She never tired of Hatchings, and was thrilled by every Impression. Kibor Impressed this time, a Blue dragon; this was a surprise to many who had expected him to Impress a bronze like his brothers.

"There'll be reason for it." Said R'gar. "Dragons know."

T'lan nodded, having left Deckter to seek out her lover. K'bor was not disappointed; he was obviously thrilled with Baveth and escorted him carefully to the exit where R'gar and T'lana stood, beaming in joy. He was joined by others as R'gar congratulated each of them and directed them to the buckets of meat that had been prepared. As always it was over too soon; and Geriana was still sketching away, without a dragonet in sight.

"Aw, shards." Said Talana. "But she's young yet. Maybe she's due a queen!"

R'gar laughed.

"You do have to order everyone's life, don't you sweeting!" He said. She grinned unrepentantly at him.

"I surely have to order Deckter's. He has a problem for me. I hope it doesn't involve travel or I shall have to turn it down. I feel like I'm carrying a clutch of young bronzes!" She patted the immense swell of her abdomen, pulling a face as the life within her kicked enthusiastically. "And it's a long time since I had any acquaintance with my feet." She groused, trying to ease herself into a comfortable stance. Suddenly her expression changed. "R'gar" she said urgently

"What is it?"

"It must be the humming set it off….I'm wet and I can feel the contractions. Mirrith's coming – you'd better ask Calla to step up when she has a moment." She knew Calla was busy seeing to the minor cuts and abrasions some of the boys had received through being jostled by impatient dragonets. Casualties were not on the scale they had apparently once been, but some damage always occurred.

Mirrith arrived, swooping down; and she and R'gar helped T'lan onto her neck to go swiftly to the shared weyr. R'gar headed off Deckter who had come to seek out the little weyrwoman; and T'lana heard him call his good wishes for a speedy delivery to her. When Mirrith had deposited her she stripped and eased herself into the hot bathing pool, sighing with relief as the water took her weight. She concentrated on her breathing and waited for Calla.

R'gar arrived first.

"Calla'll be delayed" he said shortly. "That young fool T'han managed to break his other leg in trying to untangle Firrianth's wings."

"She'll be too late then." Retorted Talana, more calmly than she felt. "Someone's got ideas about arriving quickly."

R'gar had seen his sons born; it was not a totally new experience. The arrival of his second daughter into the world was however more precipitate than he had anticipated and he almost dropped her. She was a long thin thing, red and angry from the tuft of flaming hair to her tightly curled toes; but R'gar and T'lana thought she was beautiful. Sagarra wordlessly handed her father a towel and he took it with a word of thanks before doing a double take.

"When did you get here?" he asked.

"Right when it started getting messy and T'lan ran out of curse words." Sagarra smiled seraphically at him. "You seemed to be doing so well though, so I didn't interfere."

R'gar grunted. Talana reached out a tired hand to the little girl.

"Give's a cuddle, sweetheart" she whispered "Then you can be the first person to hold your sister."

oOoOo

R'gar permitted Lord Deckter to visit T'lana the next day; he had discovered from the lord Holder what his problem was, and felt that it was something that would give T'lana something of sedentary interest. Deckter discovered the weyrwoman in the process of feeding her baby, Felgarra as they had decided to name her, but being a man of the people was not at all discomposed. He enquired after the health of mother and child; and Talana grinned at him.

"We're both fine, Deckter, but I can see that you're itching to talk about your puzzle – so I'll not press you for the pleasantries."

Deckter laughed a little ruefully.

"You have me to rights there, T'lana. But then neither of us is one to stand on ceremony – so I'm sure you'll forgive me!" He grinned. "As you see I have a packet with me; it contains a picture. However there is a story that needs to be told first." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "In the winter an itinerant artist came to the Hold to ask for work and shelter. A competent artist is always welcome; and I found him jobs. I confess I was partly moved by pity; for he was a sickly creature, and indeed he was dying by inches already when I took him in. Yet he worked hard; and when he was not working for me he worked on a masterpiece for his own satisfaction."

He unwrapped the rectangular board to show Talana; and she gasped in delight.

"It is exquisite!" she cried. "Who is the woman depicted?"

"Of that I have no idea; and Tircil, the artist, never told me. But he asked me to give this to his son Kieril and tell him that within this painting laid everything he had to give him. I felt it a strange legacy unless the woman had some significance; but when Kieril arrived at my message the other day, he professed ignorance concerning her. Moreover he was concerned to find his father otherwise devoid of valuables; for the young man informed me that his father had light-fingered tendencies and he was hoping to restore certain goods to their previous owners."

"He may of course have spent all he had acquired." Said Talana. "Or – let me feel the weight of the painting."

She held the small panel and weighed it in her hands, then shook her head.

"It is too light for him to have melted gold and painted over it." She said. "Moreover, if he loved beauty – as he plainly did – he could not bring himself to destroy artworks such as jewellery." She gazed thoughtfully at the sumptuously clad young woman with rich, asymmetric embroidery covering the bodice of her gown. "It's a strange pattern, isn't it – all those straight lines, no curves or softness such as you might expect on the gown of a gently bred woman as one would expect her to be from the richness of the robe." She frowned, peering closer at the picture. "May I keep it for a while to study?" She asked. Deckter nodded.

"I was hoping that you would be prepared to ponder on it. I feel certain that it holds more than immediately meets the eye."

oOoOo

Talana propped up the little board at the end of her bed and returned to studying it from time to time during the day. She said to R'gar,

"Do you think that she is merely resting her hand against herself, or is she pointing at the jewel on her shoulder?"

R'gar scratched his head.

"She could be pointing." He decided. "Strange embroidery pattern."

"Somehow it seems familiar." Worried T'lana. "It should mean something to me."

"In what way?"

"I have been there – it's a map, a map!" She cried, realising the significance of the tracery.

"A treasure map?" R'gar could not keep excitement from his voice and she laughed at him.

"Dear one, I do love you!" She said, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him firmly. "Are you actually going to let me go out looking for buried treasure?"

He kissed her.

"I've got all the treasure I need in my arms." He told her; and she snuggled against his chest in deep contentment. At last she said,

"I suppose we'd better tell Deckter where it is then – and I'd better do some confessing."

"You know where it is?"

"Sure I do. That heavy embroidered square to the left of her bodice represents the kitchen. Where the passage branches up to her right shoulder, there's a squirly square, which is where the glows were kept; then the passage that leads to the jewel is my passage with the rockfall. I bet he'd have hidden his treasure amongst the rocks; my room isn't shown. But Deckter must know. He's not Meron after all."

R'gar nodded.

"You're right love. But you're not going to Nabol to tell him, nor yet to go ferreting about in dark passageways."

"No?"

"Absolutely no" – and as she made a face "And I've told Laranth to make it absolutely clear to Mirrith that if she took you she'd be putting you at risk."

"That was devious – and unnecessary! When have I ever disobeyed you?" She pummelled him gently.

"When you could figure out a way of slipping through my restrictions!" He laughed. "Don't worry, love, I'll tell Deckter and ask him to wait a few days before he starts digging. It's waited through the months between Tircil finding a good hiding place; it'll wait a little longer."

oOoOo

When Calla pronounced T'lana fit to travel, she wrapped up warm against milk fever; but she already had suspicions that her milk was starting to prove inadequate. She was hoping to find a wet nurse at Nabol to help her out, for no one in the Weyr had a small baby to be a milk sibling. However, she was determined to see to uncovering the treasure first; she might have laughed at R'gar for his boyish enthusiasm, but there was something about the very phrase 'buried treasure' that had an excitement about it!

Deckter was waiting for R'gar and T'lana with a young man whom he introduced as Kieril, Tircil's son. The Lord Holder greeted the dragonfolk warmly, and led them towards T'lana's rockpile. R'gar had explained T'lana's previous adventures in the region; and Deckter had been duly outraged at her circumstances. He declared himself even more fascinated to see the room of the Ancients than to uncover the hidden jewels; but T'lana was sure that treasure hunting was as great a lure to him as to any small boy!

There were several sturdy men ready to help shift rock and debris; and the hunt began. Before long a shout went up – one of the men had found something!

The soft leather pouch was swiftly uncovered; and Lord Deckter poured forth a glittering array of jewellery. Keiril sighed in relief.

"I shall feel better to be able to return these to their respective owners." He said. He explained to T'lana, "Lord Deckter has kindly promised to help find the owners. My father travelled quite widely and I fear he could not resist the pull of jewellery." A look of pain crossed his face. "It's why mother left him – and took me with her. He broke his promise to her one too many times."

Deckter patted the young man on the shoulder; and Talana sensed that a deep affection had grown up between them, Deckter impressed by Kieril's honesty; and the youngster touched by the Lord Holder's kindness.

It took some considerable time for the men to clear a large enough gap in the rockpile for a man to readily and safely pass. T'lana directed operations, knowing where was best to break through and where some at least of the loose rocks were. Deckter scrambled through, excited, and held out a hand to help her follow. T'lana and R'gar followed him, the latter eager to see where his love had found her book. Deckter was truly fascinated by the room; and would have stayed for hours tracing the mathematical symbols and mix of strange and familiar animals; but R'gar pointed out that a certain young woman would be wanting her lunch.

"Which reminds me." Said T'lana. "Deckter, I'm looking for a wet nurse to supplement her food; if you could recommend someone, I'd be grateful."

"I can't think of anyone off the top of my head; but I'll ask around." The Lord Holder promised.

oOoOo

Lord Deckter was quick to furnish Talana with a name and location of a possible wetnurse; and she flew over with R'gar to check her out. The Hold was in the Esvay Valley, and the Holder was a nephew of Meron's. He was a large man with a jovial manner and a loud laugh; but T'lana looked into his eyes and shuddered. He was only too willing to be accommodating to the weyrwoman, offering her fine wine and presenting the sturdy holder girl Rannida to her. Talana took an instant dislike to Rannida. The girl was presentable enough and respectful; but T'lana noticed an air of calculation that, she felt, would translate itself into an ongoing demand for gratitude from both weyr and her tiny daughter as she grew. Talana thanked her for the offer; and gave her some remuneration for her trouble; but turned her down. She was about to leave, when a child in the ragged, filthy dress of an ill-kempt drudge ran into the hall and threw herself at her feet, clasping her knees.

"Weyrwoman, I beg of you – my mother and I desire to take service with the weyr as your personal servants!" She cried. "My mother is sick but she will be a hard worker when she has fully overcome birthing!"

The plaintive plea smote Talana's heart; and the terms in which it was couched gave her pause. This was no normal drudge of little education and no breeding.

"Do not trouble the weyrwoman, useless brat!" Roared Holder Derrinik. "Get back to your duties!" He aimed a vicious kick at the child. Talana swung the youngster out of the way, and received the kick herself. The Holder was instantly grovellingly apologetic.

"Weyrwoman, how can I express my apologies? And I am so sorry that this defective is troubling you. I will have her removed at once!"

Talana regarded him coldly, lifting the child; then judging distance carefully she returned his kick, aimed for the crotch.

"So much for diplomacy." Murmured R'gar.

"I will NOT have children mistreated!" snapped T'lan, her eyes flashing. "Where is your mother, child – Take me to her." She held out a hand; and the little girl, much the same age as Sagarra, took it and led her deep into the hold.

oOoOo

The woman was sick; and not just of birthing. Her back was a mess of whip cuts and her soul cried out in an anguish of loss that made Talana clamp her hands to her head until she had her 'inner ear' under control.

"By the first egg, what is going on here?" She exclaimed. The woman turned big eyes on her then looked at her daughter.

"Amrys, what have you done? He will punish us both!"

"I had to do something! The weyrwoman will look after us!" Amrys cried.

"Indeed I shall!" Declared Talana. "Your daughter says you have just birthed – and if that is so there is no excuse for such a whipping before or after!" R'gar, who had followed, nodded.

"There must be enquiry into this." He said. Talana's eyes narrowed.

"Deckter is hoping we will deal with it for him. He said to 'go and take a good look' if you recall. Either that or he wants us to witness. Tell me, for what reason was this done?" She asked the woman. The woman tried to pull herself upright.

"Last week I was Lady Rillys and my daughter Lady Amrys. My husband, Lord Derrinik, has never been an easy man. I had showed too much of a friendship towards the hall harper; and he took it for more, though I was never unfaithful in deed. He had me whipped to make me miscarry though it took many days of whipping before it was accomplished; and he strangled the child in case it was Ferdal's. My daughter and I he declared drudges and has had punished any who show us kindness. But he is the Holder; and I have no kin or craft."

The simple dignity of Rillys told more than her words; and T'lan's eyebrows met in the famous scowl.

"No." Said R'gar.

"He must be dealt with."

"Not by us. It is Deckter's business. We have witnessed. Deckter will find others to testify when it is apparent that Derrinik's ascendancy here is in jeopardy. We will take them away to safety."

Talana bowed her head. Her heart longed to turn on the Holder as he barged in through the door blustering and shouting – if walking rather bow legged – but she knew that her father would disapprove of High Reaches Dragonkind gaining a reputation for killing Meron's relatives. There had been at least one other duel that she knew of apart from the double duel she and R'gar had fought; and tongues would wag.

"We were leaving." She said coldly. "With guests who wish – as is their right – to come to the weyr. We shall be seeing Lord Deckter. In your shoes, I'd make a run – sorry, hobble – for it." She gave him her most brittle smile and swept out, carrying Amrys; R'gar followed with Rillys.

oOoOo

Calla exclaimed over Rillys and sorted out salves; and T'lana left Amrys in the care of Sagarra. Sagarra was inclined towards jealousy; but when her T'lan had made clear that Amrys had her own mother, and had explained what had befallen, her natural compassion welled up and T'lan knew that Amrys would be taken good care of.

"And I still need a wetnurse." She muttered to herself. Rillys raised herself on one elbow, to the protest of Calla.

"Lady T'lana – my milk is still in. May I be a wetnurse for you?"

"My dear, is that wise? You are so badly hurt!"

"I want to. I want to say thank you for helping us; it is something I can do."

Talana exchanged a glance with Calla. The healer nodded imperceptibly; helping with T'lan's baby might help Rillys get over the cruel loss of her own.

"If you are sure." Said Talana. "I do not want to make your loss worse for you."

"If I cannot have my own baby I can at least give a better chance to another. As another woman I can see that you worry."

Talana bowed her head. She was concerned for Felgarra, more than she had admitted to R'gar, as her milk dwindled.

"Then I accept your kind offer; and if you will permit, Amrys will doubtless be a good friend for my eldest daughter." She said, carefully embracing Rillys.

oOoOo

Deckter was furious.

"I knew he was a blustering bully" he told R'gar "But that counts as murder. I had received a complaint from the harper Ferdal that he was abused, beaten and thrown from the Rivenhill Hold for no good reason, and that he had reason to fear for the safety of Lady Rillys. I wondered if he had found amusement in that quarter and his ejection were justified if a little rough. It seems that even if Rillys had been guilty of adultery – which both she and the harper have denied – such a punishment is excessive. And to punish her through ill treatment of the child and murder of the baby is unacceptable. Believe it Bronze rider, I shall not be lenient."

R'gar believed it. Deckter was a man of his word, and one who believed in getting things done. He also believed in maintaining good relations with the weyr, and was happy to learn that T'lana had found a wetnurse in Rillys. Rillys herself almost wept at the kindness she was shown; Derrinik was such a bully she had forgotten that men could be gentle, and watched R'gar's treatment of T'lana with astonishment.

"I hope you appreciate what a fine man you have there" she said. Talana nodded.

"Yes." She said. "I hold him in the highest R'gard…"

**The End [of this one]**

_A/N T'lana is still fumbling her way around the craft of Logicating, though her ability to notice things and correlate them stands her in good stead; she and her friends start to get a grip on it from hereon. _

_Amrys gets her own series later on when she's older...__  
_

_However I am taking a break at posting for a few days; Chronicles of High Reaches will be with you on Valetine's Day followed by a braided novel called 'Women of High Reaches' touching on a few of the ladies new and known.  
_


End file.
